


On My Own

by ReymerRhymer



Category: Kuroshitsuji, The Walking Dead
Genre: Awkward Ciel Phantomhive, Ciel Phantomhive Being an Asshole, Crossover, Dimensional Travel, Gen, Minor Character Deaths, Mystery, POV Ciel Phantomhive, Teenage Ciel Phantomhive, Time Travel, big brother Ciel, little sister Clementine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 36,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23996437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReymerRhymer/pseuds/ReymerRhymer
Summary: Waking up in an unfamiliar room, Ciel Phantomhive discovers that his covenant with Sebastian is all but gone. He now must journey in the company of Lee and Clementine to survive in a world where the dead walk and humans fighting to survive. How did he get here and why? He does not know, but he will finally learn that surviving on your own without a demon by your side is a royal pain in the ass.
Relationships: Carley/Lee Everett/Lilly (Walking Dead: A New Day), Katjaa/Kenny (Walking Dead), Lee Everett/Carley/Doug
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	1. Of Shoeless Boys

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I DO NOT own characters from Kuroshitsuji and The Walking Dead, as they belong to their proper, respectable owners. The story follows the Walking Dead game (which belongs to it's owner), but changes to the plot and scenarios are of my own making, therefore it is by right considered fair use. This story is not used for financial gain, but by solely for non-profit creative freedom.

It was dark. Freezing cold. There was but not a sound as he drifted further into the depths of blackness. He felt weightless in this blank dream. Comforted even. It was as if he had to worry no more about anything, but to simply relax in the darkness that surrounded him.

What felt like an eternity in the abyss, the boy woke with a sudden start to the sound of faint, but still loud gunshots. His mismatched eyes, wide from shock, darted around the small room taking in the surroundings that were unfamiliar to him. He looked down to see that he was in a small bed with lavender sheets covering it. The boy slowly brought his legs over the side edge of the bed as he then stood up groggily.

"Wh – where am I?" The boy's groggy, yet soft voice muttered. "Sebastian, where are you?" He said a little loudly as he took the first few steps, but his balance was thrown off slightly.

Stopping for a bit, he lifted a hand to brush through his dark hair but quickly brought it back to his side, feeling something amiss. The pace of his legs quicken to the mirror that was a few feet away from him to look at his reflection. His eyes widened, slightly in confusion, as he saw that his eyepatch was missing, but that was not why he was shocked.

"What is this?" He breathed out. His right eye was still the deep violet, but there was no indication of his indenture with his butler, the demon whose covenant priorly marked the violet hue. "The Faustian mark is...gone. What is going on here?!"

The boy relaxed himself as he let out a breath as he tried to remember how he ended up in the unrecognizable room. He closed his eyes, trying to recall any indication, but the ache in his head halted him from prying more into his memory bank. The moment the memory he wanted to see was vividly coming back, he felt a snap, a pull in his brain that he fell to his knees, clutched his head tightly, groaning in the pain. It was as if whatever, or whomever, got him here in this strange room has made certain to not let him remember how nor why.

"I need to get out of here." The boy said with a wince, his hand still gripping his head from the agonizing feeling.

The boy opened the room's door and slipped into the small hallway in catfooted steps.

The hallway was small with striped wallpaper, a few simple paintings and photographs hanging on the wall. The cool wood of the floor was pleasant on the boy's bare feet, he noticed that detail immediately once he stepped out. He did not how he was shoeless but looked down at what he was wearing. He wore his blue shorts and a white, untucked, long sleeve shirt, his rings on his thumb and middle finger, and his gun safely tucked behind but that was it. He looked like someone who had just recently woken up and sloppily dressed. Was he getting dressed when he ended up here? Shaking the thought he continued the trek.

There were whispering voices that faintly echoed the hall. The boy walked at the end of the hall to see a set of stairs that led to the main floor. He took a step but stopped on the second when he looked below him to see the way down was blocked by a large case. He then heard the gurgle and raspy hissing sound that was all too recognizable. It was a noise that he never wanted to hear again for the rest of his life.

_Please let this all be in my head_ _,_ he thought.

The boy heard a shriek and a scream coming from below. He quickened his pace to make his way below and climbed over the railing to get down. Once he was on the main floor, he saw the body of a woman with an indecent skirt length on top of a man. When the boy walked a bit closer, he saw that the girl was not like any of _those_ things he saw back on the cruise ship. No, _this_ thing was a decayed, _living_ body trying to chomp on the man. The man, who had dark skin, a blue shirt, blue trousers and brown shoes, struggled to keep the thing away from him. In a time like this, the boy wished Sebastian was here, or Snake with his venomous snake that obeyed his every command, even Elizabeth with her extraordinary and surprising sword skill. But none of them were here, he knew. In hindsight, watching the live corpse trying to dig its teeth on the man below it, the boy knew there were always more of them; he'd seen them on the _Campania_.

The dark skinned man forcefully pushed the corpse off himself as he scampered back towards the opened door with a trembling, small girl standing behind, a hammer clutched in her small hands. The man saw the boy ran the little distance from where he stood to where the moving stiff began crawling back to him, the child's bare feet clapping on the wood with every step.

"Wait!" The man shouted. He did not wanted to see the boy hurt. It all happened so fast. The boy pulled the gun that was on his person, like an expert marksman, and fired two shots on the back of the cadaver's head, instantly killing it.

The man panted as he slowly, carefully, stood up and grunted from the pain of his injured leg as he finally stood. He saw the rusted red colored fluid pooling below the corpse, then he turned to the young boy as he tucked the gun behind him, his face devoid of emotion, but his eyes shown a hint of fear. The small girl walked a the few steps near the man, looking at the body of her former babysitter.

"Did you kill it?" She asked the boy as she broke the silence between the three of them.

"I think something else did. Before him, I think." The man muttered.

"Yes. I did." The boy simply replied with not a trace of emotion.

"It's okay. I think she was a monster." She said a little frightened at the corpse. "I heard her scream two nights ago. Maybe one of the monsters got her." She looked at both males before her.

"Two nights ago?" The boy looked at her. His face scrunched at her appearance. Her dark brown hair was unkempt under the cap on her head, she wore a slightly dirty, long, white sleeveless shirt with a white ruffled skirt, dark blue leggings and black flats. He sighed knowing he looked worse for wear, too. "Was that when all this started?"

"Probably, I came to today." The male answered. "You're not from around here are you, son?"

"No. I don't even know where I am." The boy's smooth voice said.

"Do you mind telling us your name? Where you're from?" The male softly asked the boy. Even with the blank face on the youth's features, his eyes were filled with confusion and fright. He acted very mature, the man noticed. But what was he doing here in the little girl's home? Or how did he even get here?

"My name is Ciel Phantomhive. I'm Earl and Head of the Phantomhive household." He pompously replied. "I live outside the city of London. Now do you mind telling me _your_ names and where I am?"

_What a little brat_. The man thought distastefully, eyes narrowing at the youth. "The name's Lee," the man said. "The little one here is Clementine." The little girl shyly waved at the boy before hiding behind Lee's legs. "This is her house. And you're a very _long_ way from London, kid. You're in Atlanta, Georgia, in America."

"America?" Ciel's eyes widened from the revelation. He stepped a few paces away from the two, shaking his head in disbelief of the news he received. It was absurd that he was thousands of miles from his home. It was preposterous! And the dead reanimating once more, that was not possible. Sebastian and he ruined Undertaker's plans for the reanimation of the dead, twice. How could he be in America with the dead living once more, killing and eating the flesh of the living? It was just not possible. "That can't be. I can't—" Ciel hyperventilated.

"Please, son, calm down." Lee slowly approached the frightened boy. He placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders only for the boy to violently slap the appendage away from him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He ferociously snarled at the man. Clementine gasped, scared of the boy, as his blue and violet eyes stared at them menacingly.

"Alright, alright," Lee said, unaffected by the sudden hostility from the youth. "Just take it easy. Calm down. Please, you're scaring her."

Ciel, breath heavy, looked at the man for a brief second then looked at the small girl huddled at the corner near the door, whimpering, trembling in fright and with her eyes closed. The way she was reminded him of that time when he almost hurt Elizabeth for breaking his ring. He then looked at Lee. The man was unshaken from his tantrum. His face was calm yet disapproving of the boy's behavior, fatherly was what came through the youth's mind.

The boy slowly calmed himself, but his breathing was still quick and uneven; with his weak health, it would be disastrous if he did not calm himself. Relaxing himself, Ciel's face was emotionless once again. Feeling a sense of guilt within, which was often rare on his part, he walked slowly towards the scared girl, and like the gentleman he was, he crouched to her level and extended his hand to her.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, his face remained unchanged. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Clementine slowly opened her eyes to meet blue and violet. She looked at his extended hand, unsure whether to take it or not. She looked at Lee for guidance, despite just knowing him, but he felt like a father figure for her the moment they spoke. The man nodded, a faint smile on his face, reassuring Clementine that it was okay, and she took Ciel's offered hand.

Ciel pulled the girl back to her feet, then turned to the sturdy man. "What do we do now?" Ciel asked the man.

"Yeah. I want my parents to come home now." Clementine said, a bit shaken, to the older male, swinging her body back and forth.

Lee gently crouched, ignoring the pain that surged in his wounded leg, to be eye level with Clementine. "I think that might be a little while, you know?" he looked at her gently, saddened, unable to tell her the truth from the messages her mother left for her.

"Oh." She replied sadly.

The older man moved gently to her, voice still soft and gentle. "Look, I don't know what happened. But I'll look after you until then." He said to the young one who nodded in reply, then turned his gaze to the boy next to her. "Both of you."

The boy was taken aback at the man's proclamation, but hidden his shock instantly. "I-I can take care of myself." He frowned, face flushed in embarrassment. Lee snickered quietly at the boy's attempt of acting like an adult.

"What should we do now?"

"We need to find help before it gets dark." The man's deep voice said assuredly.

"Yeah, it's not safe at night." Clementine said, turning towards the sliding door. Lee carefully stood up to his full height as Clementine took her small hand in his large one. Then she turned to Ciel, offering her left hand to him. The boy looked blankly at her then looked at Lee. The man had an eyebrow raised at him, daring the boy to refuse the sweet little girl next to him.

Ciel sighed in defeat and took her small hand in his. He made a face feeling the sweatiness from it, probably from the heat that emitted from the outside, but kept his composure for her sake, and to keep the man from riling him for the fun of it. The man reminded Ciel of Sebastian to some extent. Of course he being human and his butler a demon. He looked down at Clementine. She was so small compared to him, giving him an air of superiority since he _knew_ Elizabeth, his betrothed, was a few inches taller than he was but she wore flats so she would be the same height as he. Then Ciel remembered an important detail. He looked to his feet. They were still bare.

"Let's go, you two. Stay close to me." Lee said in a hush tone.

"Wait," Ciel said stopping the two.

"What is it, Ciel?" The man said. It felt strange for the youth to hear his first name without any prefix or title. He was not content, but knew the man would not address him in a title. He was intimidating to a degree. Lee saw the boy looked down to his feet and the man followed. "Where're your shoes?"

"When I awoke, I didn't have any." He said blankly.

Shaking his head in weariness of the day, he replied "We'll get you some shoes when we get to somewhere safe." The boy nodded, conceding defeat.

The three walked out together, Clementine loosening her holding from both males to stare at her now empty home, solemnly. She quickly slid the glass door shut and looked at the man indicating she was ready to leave. Ciel stared at the yard to see the tree house in the tree, a round wheel tied to the tree by a strong and sturdy rope as a makeshift swing. A wagon and other items littered on the grounds. Clementine slipped her hand back into Ciel's, the boy a little flabbergasted at her boldness, and she pulled him down the small set of stairs that led to the pavement below. The boy looked at the man slowly walking to where they were, grunting from the pain every now and then.

Turning to the right to where the gate was, the three stopped to see two men struggling to push a damaged car out of the road. Ciel looked at the many cars on the street. Where he was from they only rode a horse-drawn carriage; automobiles were extremely rare, but the style was different, almost futuristic.

_Where did I end up in? More precisely,_ when _?_ He thought.

"Maaan..." Said one of the two men on the street.

"I ain't never gettin' home to mama at this rate. " Said the other man, in a strange accent the boy could not quite place.

As they neared the gate, Ciel felt his hand tugged back by the little girl next to him. "What's the matter?" he asked her softly.

"Should I stay?" She said unsure of what to do, her head down cast. The boy sighed, it was to be expected for children her age to be indecisive about mature decisions.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to sleep in the tree house tonight," she looked up at him, "but, I don't know if I should leave. What if my parents come home?"

"He won't leave you alone." The boy replied assuredly.

"What about you?" Clementine asked him. The boy taken a bit by surprise at her question, did not know what to say. His face reddened slightly. How was he going to answer her? He barely knew her. But knew he should just answer her like he did before.

"I won't." He replied forcefully, hoping the girl wouldn't notice. Luckily for him, she smiled.

"What are you two talking about?" Lee asked as he came back to see why the young ones were lagging behind. He crouched to Clementine's level, smile present.

"Let's go somewhere safe that's close, okay?" Clementine said, unsure of herself.

"That's a good idea." The man replied getting himself back up.

They walked to the closed gate, the men that were pushing the car were still struggling with it did not notice their presence, as Clementine opened the bars of iron with a loud creak.

"Hey, man," Lee said, scaring the two before them.

"HOLY SHIT! DON'T EAT US!" The plump one said, waving his arms. The boy smirked at him, he found it amusing that they thought that their older companion was one of the dead.

"We're not going to hurt you." Lee limped to them, reassuring the two men.

"Phew," the thinner male sighed with relief, then looked at Lee. "Thought for a second you and the little ones were _both_ going to give us the chomp."

Ciel scowled at the man. He did not like being labeled as _little_. He blamed it on his health and malnourishment from _that_ long month when he contracted with the demon. Besides, he was 158 centimeters tall, that was not little. He was still growing.

"We need help." Lee said lowly to the two other men.

The thinner man, worried face, answered the dark skinned male. "So you've seen them then," he said as he turned to look at the carcass, blood underneath it. It was pale, it's clothes shredded, ribcage poking. "Are you trying to get out of here? Because you should be. Those things are all over the damn place. I haven't seen anything as gnarly as this neighborhood since downtown Atlanta, fifteen miles back."

Just as the boy predicted, there were more than just the one in the house, and the ones that bit her.

"I'm Shawn, Shawn Greene." The thin man introduced himself.

"Lee," the man answered, then turned to the two young ones. "This is Clementine, and he's Ciel."

The plump man looked at Ciel's face, feeling slightly scared of the boy and decided to crouch to the little girl's level, introducing himself. "I'm Chet." He replied, waving at the small girl. Clementine smiled shyly as she then slightly hid behind the boy.

"We shouldn't be out in the open like this," Shawn said anxiously as he searched around him for any sign of the reanimated dead. "How about you help us clear the way and we'll take you and your kids out of here, and down to my family's farm. It should be safe there." He offered, a smile on his lips.

"I'm not their dad. I'm..." Lee hesitated to answer.

"He's our sitter." Ciel answered, feeling both impatience at the man's hesitance and anxious that there could be more dead out there walking, and he was not going to have none of that. "Our parents' are out of town on business, seeing as I'm only a child, they asked this man to care for us because I'm not responsible enough."

"So, _you two_ are related?" Shawn asked a bit in disbelief.

"Different fathers, but same mother." Ciel replied, Clementine was confused at the boy's lie. If the thin man thought Lee was their father, then that meant that mixing different races was no issue here. He squeezed the small hand in his tightly as if saying to go along with it. Clementine looked at Shawn looking at her for confirmation and she nodded.

"Oh. I take it your mom's English then, what with your accent?"

"Yes. Mum and I are from London, but we moved here in Atlanta when I was five. She and my sister's father met over there and married here." Ciel faked a smile to the thinner man. Clementine was a little scared of that fake smile, she knew it was fake just from the feel of it.

"Alright then," Shawn said satisfied, "Let's get going. Staying put for too long is a mistake." Lee nodded at Shawn, then turned to look at the two behind him.

"I..." Clementine stammered, looking at Lee, then to the house, to Ciel, but was interrupted when Chet spoke.

"Them monsters comin'! WE GOTTA GO!" Chet said urgently. The raspy growling and snarls from the dead was growing closer towards them.

Shawn ran to the dented car then turned to Lee. "Lee, quick! Let's go!" He said quietly and alarmed to get the man to help push the vehicle.

Lee ran to the car that Shawn was pushing and helped him move the dented scrap metal from the road. As they pushed more, they stopped briefly as the car was stuck. Lee then turned to the boy and called to him. "Ciel!"

Ciel did not know what to do. How can he help push the damn thing. He knew his strength limits, but groaned in annoyance and ran towards them, Clementine behind his heels as they all pushed the banged up car away from the road as much as they could. _Damn this thing is heavy_ _!_ He thought as he strained to a halt. Once the snarls got closer, they all made their way into the car. Clementine and Lee took to the front as Chet helped Ciel in the back, Shawn getting into the driver's seat.

Shawn revved up the red pick-up and floored it, giving his back passengers a bit of backlash from the insane escape route.

Ciel muttered an ouch when his head hit the back of the cab. He rubbed the sore spot and saw Clementine looking out the window as she stared at the monsters that were left behind. Thinking that the insanity was over, Shawn turned on the curb, knocking some roadblocks in a sharp right turn making the boy recoil and hurt himself once more.

_I'll murder whomever invented this damn thing!_ The boy swore vengeance. He made an oath to never get back into one of these contraptions ever again, or at least with one Shawn Greene behind the wheel.


	2. Of Laces and Hardwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After escaping the suburbs of Atlanta, Ciel and company arrive at the Greene family farm where they’re introduced by the patriarch of the family, Hershel Greene. Their stay, however, will not last long.

The ride to Shawn's home felt like a long way. The twilight of the sky grew dark as they kept driving. Ciel had not spoken a word since, he was not much for conversations and certainly there would be no commonality between he and Chet, who sat adjacent to him. To pass the time, the boy watched the streets of houses pass by them. Each house was uniquely built, not taking the same model as the rest. There passed a few more living dead who ignored them as they feasted on the poor soul that laid on the ground unmoving. There were the few dumb ones that believed if they walked fast enough, they could catch up to the speeding pick-up (it was amusing to a certain extent). There was an occasion where Shawn had to stop the truck and with Lee's help, they pushed another car that blocked their way, and in good fortune there were no dead around.

Once the light of the sky darkened and the crickets' song began, the boy saw they were now entering the country and the dirt road was unpleasant with the few bumps here and there, especially with the speed that their driver was going.

After passing some fields, Shawn turned the vehicle to the right, in between stalks of crops. The truck came to a full stop as it stationed in front of a white house, the porch was dimly lit. The pick-up's engine was cut off as Chet hopped over the side of the trunk, with Shawn getting out from the front. Lee and Clementine got out from the passenger's side, but Ciel refused to leave the back. Lee shook his head amusedly, noticing the teen's scrunched up face when he saw the dirt on the ground, seeing that he hated getting dirty in any way. Shawn looked at them after Chet said his goodbyes and left. He walked to the side of the truck's bed and looked at Lee.

"What's wrong with him?" Shawn asked the other man as he turned to Ciel.

"He lost his shoes and he's not about to leave from that spot." Lee sniggered as the boy gave him a warning look, to which the man completely ignored.

"Seriously?" Shawn looked to Ciel, the boy was redder than a tomato from the complete humiliation and quandary he was in. The stares he received from them, even Clementine's, was making the matter worse. "C'mon, it's just a little dirt. Be a man." Shawn said boisterously, roughly ruffling the boy's hair which the boy smacked the hands away, displeased.

 _Why does everyone question my masculinity?!_ Ciel thought as he harrumphed pompously and jumped off the bed of the truck to the cold dirt below. It felt rough, powdery, and gross as he could feel some of the dust embed itself between his toes. It was different from the rough texture of paved concrete that the road from the suburbs was made of. He thought that after that one month he would never in his life touch the dirt with bare feet, and yet here he was, again, barefooted; trying to save what little dignity he had left he strode away with Clementine after him from the two men who still snickered at his expense.

Clementine snuck her hand in the boy's and he looked back at her, still unaccustomed at her boldness. _I'll never be used to that. Even Elizabeth wasn't this bold._ He thought, but counted himself lucky that the small girl had not crushed him in a discomforting embrace as his fiancee (as well as his Uncle Alexis) once did.

"What is it?" Ciel said mildly irritated as he pulled his hand from the small girl.

"You're angry?" she simply asked, her brown eyes large and doe-like were etched with concern

The boy sighed, "and if I am, what of it?"

Clementine stood silently, not making a single sound. She took hold of Ciel's hand again and muttered a "come on" as she dragged him (he willingly let her since she would still take his hand with or without his consent) to where Lee and Shawn were, and an older, white bearded man was on the front porch steps.

"I see that you also brought some little guests with you." The bearded man said to Shawn when he saw the two youths approach them.

"Your boy's a lifesaver," Lee said.

"Glad he could be of help to somebody." The elder man, whom Ciel noticed was Shawn's father, replied politely. "So it's just you and your kids then." Shawn's father looked towards Ciel and Clementine, her hand still in his.

"Oh, they're not his kids," Shawn shook his head to the bearded man, "he's the babysitter. But the two are related."

"Son," Shawn's father began as he stared at the boy, trying to intimidate the truth out of the youth; "do you know this man?"

Ciel's face was blank, nonchalant and replied to the man in a snarky manner. "I wouldn't have gone along with him if I didn't know him."

"A little smart mouth you got yourself there." The man's face hardened at him, Shawn held in his laughter to which his father disapprovingly looked at him, then turned to Clementine and bended to her level. "Honey?"

"Yes," she replied softly.

"Okay then." The bearded man stood up to his full height and noticed Lee's injury. "Well, looks like you hurt your leg pretty bad there."

"Yeah, it's not doing so good." Lee said, breath hitching every now and then from his injury.

"I can help you out. Shawn, run on in and check on your sisters." The elder said to his son before turning to Lee and gestured him to sit on the bench. "You, take a seat up on the porch and I'll go see what I have."

Shawn and his father made their way inside the house as Lee limped to the seat on the far side of the porch. Clementine took a few steps to observe the man at a distance and Ciel took a seat on the lower step. The bearded man returned quickly just as he left and walked towards the injured Lee. Ciel tentatively listened to the conversation between the two as a precaution if the wounded man hesitated when asked about them; a child he may be, but he had quite the silver tongue should it be needed, as he did have a way with words to get what he wanted.

"Let's have a look," the bearded man observed the man's wound; "Yeah, this is swollen to hell."

"It _hurts_ like hell." Lee painfully grunted from the slight movement.

"I bet it does. What'd you say your name was?"

Ciel turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse at Lee from the corner of his eye. He slightly narrowed his eyes, obviously he knew the man was going to interrogate their companion. He expected the dark skinned male to lie, at least to make their story believable.

"It's Lee."

_No last name, huh?_

"Nice to meet you, Lee. I'm Hershel Greene." Shawn's father introduced himself. Hershel wrapped Lee's injured leg securely, the other male winced at the feeling of the gauze. The older man continued his interrogation, ever focused on his small task. "How'd this happen?"

"Car accident." Lee simply replied.

"Where were you headed? Before the car accident?"

"I was getting out of Atlanta."

"The news says stay." Hershel said as he slightly gazed at Lee in scrutiny, then continued back to the wrapping of the other man's leg.

"Yeah, well that's a mistake." Lee replied before he went on. "We hit a guy, one of those things you've been hearing about, on the road."

"Who were you with, the kids?"

"I was with a police officer. He was giving me a ride."

Ciel tensed. Was Lee a criminal? From the way the older man's personality was, it seemed highly unlikely. He seemed highly educated, held himself with authority, but not once had the man emitted any cause of suspicion. Nevertheless, precaution was everything at this point given the circumstance; also he could not judge Lee if he was a criminal as those set of skills did come in handy once in a while, depending what crime the man committed.

"Awful nice of him."

"I'm an awful nice guy."

 _Idiot._ Ciel was sure that this man was going to be his doom. To his surprise though, Hershel accepted the story, not prying more into it.

"House is full up with mine. We've got another displaced family of three sleeping in the barn. You and your kids are welcome to rest there, when we're done here." Hershel said to the man before him as he turned towards the small girl behind the post. "I didn't catch your name, darlin'."

"Clem-Clementine." She shyly answered, exhaustion clear on her face.

"And yours, smart mouth?" Hershel turned to look at the boy on the bottom step.

"Ciel." The boy answered indifferently, turning to face out the distance looking at nothing particular.

"Can't imagine what you two've been through."

"I'm looking after them until we find their parents," Lee said.

The boy heard footsteps from behind and turned once again to see Shawn walking out the door. He then eyed the man's hand and saw a pair of old, dirty and slightly tattered shoes.

"Here ya go, kid." He smirked as he tossed the shoes to the boy, who clumsily caught them. "Hope they fit. They used to be mine, so take care of them."

The boy nodded as Shawn turned to his father and resumed conversation with Lee. Ciel dreaded himself at that moment. The shoes were with laces, the humanity of it all. The entirety of the shoes were blue cloth with a circular patch on one side that read _Converse_. There was some tatter on them. The tips were white, or what used to be white as they were worn and dirty. The white laces were also filthy that they took up an off-white or light yellow in color with speckles of dirt on them. Ciel looked at them in disgust; setting them aside, knew he had no other option but to wear them.

Ciel did not notice Clementine contemplating his demeanor and actions. She took the few steps down and sat beside the shoes so they were in between them.

"Aren't you going to wear them?" Clementine asked him, eyeing the shoes to her side. She saw Ciel's head lowered, hair curtaining the top half of his face. His mouth was in a tight grim line. "Ciel?" She called to him, the way her high and childish pitch said his name was foreign to his ears. He was still not used to having his first name said without a title before it. All she heard was an incoherent mutter. "Huh?"

Ciel looked up at the small girl, face flushed (how many times had he turned the color his deceased aunt loved?), a frown on his comely face as he motioned for her to come closer. Clementine got as close as she could without squishing the shoes beside her, and giving the boy some personal space. Ciel leaned towards her ear and whispered in a hushed voice, "I don't know how tie laces."

Clementine was taken aback, surprise was evident on her face. He was older than she, but he did not know how to do the simplest of things. How did this boy managed to live this far in life? This brought her a soft and small giggle. "You don't—" She was cut off with a hand covering her mouth and seeing the boy shushing her, face still red from embarrassment.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." He lowly said through clenched teeth in an attempt of warning. Clementine nodded in understanding and he let his hand drop. He picked up one the shoes on his side, looking at it in distaste and groaned in disgust as he slipped his foot into the hightop, then his other foot followed with the other. Ciel looked at the laces, vexation clear on his face. Sebastian, his butler, was the one who dressed him in the mornings and evenings and tied laces, ribbons and ties. He never learned how to, believing he would not need to as he had someone to do it for him.

Ciel felt a tight tug on his feet and brought his focus back to reality to see Clementine tying his left shoe. After she was done, she went to tie the other one. He stared at her face focusing on her task, it was so strange for him to feel a sense of maturity coming from someone so young. At her age, he was still childish, always wanting to play games and do childish things, but Clementine was different. Even though she was indecisive to leave her home before, she did not complain once nor cried or throw a tantrum of wanting to stay; she took the mature way and moved on. Now, even as she laughed at his lack of knot tying skills, here she was tying his laces with no trouble or minding.

"Finished!" She softly echoed, smiling happily. It was the first genuine smile he'd seen from her all day, what with the chaos the world had come to. It was in a way...endearing? Sweet?

Ciel looked at her work, though not perfectly straightened like Sebastian would have done, it was still passable, not that he could do any better. "Thank you," he said softly, intended for her ears only.

Hearing footsteps coming their way, both boy and girl looked at Shawn's retreating form as he went back inside the house, saying a small goodnight to the two. They then turned to look at Hershel stand and said to Lee if his leg's swelling did not recede, it was infected.

"What do we do then?" Lee asked Hershel anxiously, to which it was understandable.

"We'll probably just have to shoot you." Hershel said gravely, which in turn scared the small girl and the wounded man, the boy smirked at the attempted dark humor. Then the older man's tone changed to one of mirth and matter-of-factly. "We'll clean it, re-dress it and you'll be fine."

"Okay, that'd be preferable." Lee said with relief.

"There's blankets and such in the barn. We'll be seeing you bright and early." Hershel informed Lee. "Come tomorrow, which way you think you're headed?"

"Towards Macon, I suppose." Lee answered the man, who then nodded acknowledging the response and turned to leave but not without smiling at Clementine who returned it with one of her own. Then a nod to Ciel, who acknowledged back.

"All right then," Lee stood up carefully, the gauze wrapped securely on his leg.

The group of three stalked their way to the barn, Ciel dreading their accommodations for the night. This barn was no place for a noble such as himself. Lee opened the barn's red painted, wooden door and ushered the two children inside. Finding the blankets, and pillows on a stack of hay, the three picked a spot that was spacious enough for them and made their beds for the night. Lee carefully laid on his back with Clementine in the middle on her side facing him, and Ciel was beside her, facing the other direction.

The place was dirty, but the strength of the smell was more noticeable once they laid on the ground in their makeshift beds. Clementine took a whiff and her face scrunched up.

"It smells like..." She hesitated on what word to use.

"Manure/Shit." Lee and Ciel replied, the older male frowning at the boy's back for his choice of colorful language. Clementine gasped at the word the boy used.

"Boy, shouldn't talk like that with a little lady around. Now apologize." He firmly told the boy.

Ciel sighed and grunted from annoyance. He knew the man was not going to drop it and will pester him to no end. They may have only known each other for a few hours, but Ciel felt as if he knew him all his life. Lee acted like a father, a teacher. He knew just how to rile someone up and how to calm them or demand something, like an apology for the girl about the swear word he just used. Ever the gentleman he was taught to be, albeit the foul word, the boy propped his top half and looked at the girl. "My apologies, my lady. I'll never use such language around you ever again." He then looked to Lee, irritatingly. "Happy?"

"For the time being." Lee said to which the boy went back to his sleep position of having his back face the two.

"That was a swear," Clementine said after a moment of silence, then curled herself further into a ball. "I miss my mom and dad."

"I bet, Clem." Lee replied to her comfortingly.

"How far is Savannah?" She whispered softly.

"Pretty far."

"Oh. Okay," she tiredly said, as she fell asleep soundly.

Oh how he hated when his mind could not focus on his slumber. With events such as this, how could anyone sleep? Ciel could not snooze not even for five minutes. Whenever he tried, especially after an exhausting and horrifying day, his nightmares would be there welcoming him, plaguing him into their territory. He closed his eyes every now and then, but jolted awake whenever he drifted fully to sleep; this went on for a while. He felt warmth from his back and peeked to see Clementine had turned to her other side facing his direction. _Stupid girl_ , he thought halfheartedly. The body heat that warmed his back became increasingly uncomfortable. He moved a bit further from her, but found that her fists clung to his shirt in a vice grip. Ciel grumbled silently and turned his body to free himself from her clutches. When he succeeded, Clementine let out a little whimper from the loss of warmth. Not wanting the girl to wake Lee, he moved closer to the girl again, but this time he was facing her. _You really are childish_ _aren't you, Clementine?_

It was not long after that the boy heard tossing and turning from further down. The older man made small noises, as if in some form of emotional pain. Lee cried out, sitting up, sweat trickling from his brow. He panted as he attempted to calm down, and once he did, he settled back down on the pillow underneath. Just as the man was about to shut his eyes, the boy spoke to him, voice soft so as not to awaken the child beside him.

"Nightmare?" Ciel asked his older companion. He was not interested, but then again he really did not know much about the man. The nightmares could be related to something from his past, maybe on how he ended up at Clementine's home, being with a police officer before then. Lee turned his head to see Ciel wide awake, blue and violet eyes staring intently, Clementine holding on to him.

"Yeah. Bad one." Lee replied, still shaken from the dream. "Did I wake you up?"

"No," the boy said softly, emotionless. "I have them, too. I've had them for almost four years. They never fade. You'll get used to them eventually."

"It's just a nightmare. Dreams always change." Lee said trying to avoid the subject and assured himself it was a one time occurrence. He needed a subject change. He looked at Clementine, seeing that she was comfortable in the warmth of the uptight boy. "I see she's taken a liking to you."

"It's possible that it's because we are both close to age. It does get rather annoying, but I've had worse. She listens diligently, but she can be a bit childish. Prime example," Ciel pointed at Clementine to show the girls child-like manner of sleeping beside him, desperately holding on to him for his warmth. "How old is she?"

"She's eight." Lee answered the boy. "None of you young ones should have to experience something like this. How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen, almost fourteen."

"Yet you act more like an adult...sometimes." Lee said, a low chuckle filling their ears. Ciel scoffed, but smirked playfully. "How're the shoes?"

"They fit, but I still prefer a _clean_ pair. I don't know where that man's feet have been, nor do I ever wish to know. But they'll have to do for now."

"Once we get to Macon, we'll find you a new pair." Lee promised the boy who was shutting his eyes slowly.

"See that you do." The boy said with a yawn, finally shutting his eyes. Lee followed suit, but was awaken again when the boy spoke once more. "Memories never fade."

"Pardon?"

"The nightmares, or the memory that affected you so profound, will occasionally come back. It never leaves you alone. So try to get use to it, because you'll never know when it might happen. And they _always_ come back."

The man stared at the boy, he did not speak again. He wondered what kind of nightmares plagued Ciel's young mind. Surely nothing as bad as this? But he did not know him very well. He was a brat, but he was mature and reserved when it comes to himself other than public information. Ciel also stated that he was an earl, but that was probably some sort of child-like fantasy, imagination. Lee decided to rest once more. He would have to ask the boy about himself some other day.

Ciel was deep asleep when he felt himself being shaken up. He let one eye ajar to see Clementine was the one who woke him up. The boy cried annoyed and tiredly, closing his eyes again. The little girl was relentless, calling him to wake up and shook him again to which the boy swatted her arms away.

"Lee, he doesn't want to wake up," her little voice rang to the male.

"Up and at 'em, kid. We got chores to do." Said an unfamiliar voice to the sleeping boy.

The boy groaned in displeasure. "I don't do chores," he said groggily, turning his body the other way in hoping the unknown voice would take the hint, but to his dismay the man persisted.

"Well that's too bad, now up, up, up." The voice said. "The name's Kenny."

"Lee," his companion replied.

"Dad!" The loud voice called to Kenny, to which Ciel propped himself up and awake. He turned to see the perpetrator that disturbed his slumber completely. It was a boy, no older than Clementine, standing at the end of the barn's door, smile beaming, blinding Ciel's very eyes (metaphorically speaking). "We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" The excited boy exclaimed eagerly as he ran off.

Ciel turned to Kenny, his black, handlebar mustache, long black hair hidden under a brown cap and bushy, black eyebrows. " _What_ was that?" The boy asked non too happy as he brushed himself off the pieces of straw that clung to his person.

The mustached man light heartedly laughed at the boy's annoyance and disheveled appearance of random strands of hay in his hair. He then turned his attention to Lee. "We better get going or we won't hear the end of it." He replied, then led the way out as he once again took up conversation. "That's my boy, Ken Junior. We call him Duck, though."

"Duck?" Lee and Ciel simultaneously asked as they looked at Kenny, Ciel drawing out a long yawn.

"Yeah. Nothing bothers him. Like water off a duck's back, y'know."

Ciel slowed his pace a few feet away from the rest to look at the landscape. Everything that was once covered in darkness revealed itself in the morning light. Hershel's farm was lightly surrounded by a few trees, there was also wooden planks and boards stacked or leaned against the wooden fences. A few animals could be heard off a couple of distances away. His eyes wandered to his two companions. Lee held on to Clementine's hand as they kept walking with the other man towards a woman sitting by a bale of straw. The sight of the small girl and the grown man walking hand in hand, as a father holding onto his daughter's hand in security, brought about memories of Ciel and his own parents; the happier memories long since passed. He could still recall when at every social event, his father always held onto his small palm in his large one, being guided around so as not to get lost in the crowd.

"Dad!" The sound of the young boy, Duck, broke Ciel from his thoughts as he realized that the rest were near the woman.

Ciel paced a bit quickly to catch up to the others. As he neared them, Clementine turned her head slightly to see the boy a step behind her. She smiled lightly holding out her tiny hand to him, a gesture he was still trying to get used to as he sighed and took hold of it, otherwise, Lee might nag him to no end.

"What were you thinking about?" Clementine whispered to the boy beside her, doe eyes in curious wonder.

"What makes you think I was in thought?" Ciel retorted quietly. He knew he sounded a bit rude, but he liked his privacy. He heard her silent apology and he let out a breath knowing all too well that he had upset her, again. He had a feeling that she was just worried about him, even though they knew each other for only a night. How did this girl, with every gesture, every emotion, the sound of her voice so far affected him so easily? Ciel sighed tiredly. "You don't have to be sorry. It's just private, that's all." There was no verbal reply from her, but a nod from her head showed that she understood.

"I'll see what the kids would like." They heard Lee's gruff voice say to the man in the cap.

"I understand," Kenny replied, a small smile on his lips as he then turned to the woman and boy. "Honey, Duck, this is Lee and, what're their names?"

"The little one is Clementine, and the grumpy-looking one is Ciel," Lee replied to him. Ciel clicked his tongue out of annoyance of being called "grumpy-looking". Serious was a better word to describe him.

"Clementine and Ciel," Kenny repeated.

"Clementine, that's a very pretty name," the woman smiled at the small girl.

"Thanks," Clementine shyly replied at the complement.

"I never thought I would meet a boy with a very unique name." The woman then looked at the older boy next to Clementine. "You have very nice eyes, like the sky. I can see why they named you after it."

"Uh...thank you," Ciel lowly replied, faux politeness and eye twitching. He had to mind his manners; if she were a man he would have had a comeback or two to say to the woman. _Emasculate me why don't you_.

The crunching of the dirt on the ground alerted them of their newcomer. Shawn gave a nod in greeting to the group as the others acknowledged him. "We should get to work. We've seen what those things can do so the faster we get this fence done the better."

"I want to build a fence," Duck looked to his parents, beaming with excitement.

"Yeah." Shawn turned to the small boy. "Well I need a good foreman. You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break."

"On the tractor?" Duck asked with shimmering eyes. "Cool!"

"And I'll also take this guy here," Shawn walked to Ciel, ruffling the boy's hair much to the other's dismay. "C'mon."

"I don't do chores." Ciel made a face as he brushed through his dark locks in an attempt to fix it.

"C'mon, it ain't so bad." The older male wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulder, guiding him back towards the barn, Duck followed to catch up to them

Once they made it to their destination, Duck immediately ran towards the red tractor (something Ciel did not know what it was) and climbed aboard. There were already some wooden boards and a few metal sheets nailed together to the fence to keep some of the undead at bay, but there was still more to go. There were a couple of bales of hay stacked on top of one another, a shady tree to one side, piles of planks set down beside the bales.

Shawn picked up a few of the planks on his shoulder from the pile and walked to one of the unblocked areas. "Could you get a couple more?" He turned his head to Ciel. The boy scoffed at the idea of labor. He was an earl, someone of importance. He wouldn't be caught dead doing such dirty work. "Just carry what you can, and don't hurt yourself."

Ciel sighed in defeat and trudged his way to the wooden boards that laid on the ground. The people treated him like a mere child with a bratty attitude. He knew that if he gave Shawn Greene a hard time Lee would be called upon to handle him, like a disobedient dog. Ciel would never had let anyone talk down to him in England, but his title was worthless in a country where dead bodies decided to walk once more and turned the place in complete mayhem.

Ciel bent down and picked up two planks, careful to keep them balanced on his thin arms. He walked back towards Shawn and dropped the boards to the ground beside the others as it made a loud _CLANK_. "Now what?" Ciel looked down to Shawn who was nailing the wood to the fence. The sound of the hammer reduced as the older male stood to his full height, wiping a bit of perspiration from his brow.

"Two options," Shawn said, holding up two fingers; "Option one: you help me by steadying the boards while I hammer them down, or vice versa. Option two: you can hammer the boards by yourself while I cut those in length. Your choice."

"What about option three?" Ciel crossed his arms across his chest, stance firm and authoritative. Shawn raised a curious brow at the teen. There were always more options to help around the farm, and Ciel would rather do small, light work than all that heavy work. He was never one to physically work hard what with his health problem, as proven when he went undercover in the circus last winter. Potato peeling was seriously a very long and very tedious labor, but he much prefer that over what one Shawn Greene was offering. He did have an ace in the whole to get out of this chore.

"What do you propose then?" Shawn mimicked Ciel's actions, arms crossed on his chest, although he smiled, knowing full well what the teen was up to. "Both options are pretty light work, you barely would lift a thing. So, pray tell why you're making such a big deal about a minuscule task?"

"I have asthma." The boy plainly stated, not once losing ground in his defiance against chores. "I had an attack back at the house, before we met you and Chet."

Shawn's gaze was on him, there was some scrutiny behind those eyes, but the man let out a breath and shook his head. It seemed he believed the boy. "Explains why you're so scrawny," he chuckled softly. "Don't worry, this won't affect your symptoms. You're barely going to do anything. Any allergies I should know about?"

 _Damn._ The boy cursed internally, his plan to avoid all things work related backfiring. "Cats," the boy answered plainly. Typically his plans tended to work, but without the filthy demon around to do the chores for him, as per usual, he would have to humiliate himself once more and do the tasks asked of him. These people did not tolerate laziness or care if one was of a higher status in society, as was shown. Ciel had to suck it up. Throw away his pride and be the "man" that these people expected him to be. How irritating.

"You didn't bring your inhaler?" Shawn said to the boy, sucking in the air, raking his fingers through his hair.

"My what?" Ciel was confused at the word. There were a few choice words he heard that did not register to him. For example, the word _inhaler_.

"You know?" Shawn demonstrated with his hands, his index finger looking as if he pushed on some form of pump. "Your medicine, kid. We have cats roaming around the farm, and you don't know when one would pop up on you."

"Then it seems my work here is done." Ciel turned around and began to stride away, a small victory smirk on his lips.

"Hold it right there, little man." Shawn placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. He then turned his head to face the smaller boy on the tractor who had a confused look on his face. "Hey Duck," he began, "why don't you go feed the chickens with your mom and Ciel's sister. We'll be back shortly."

Duck did not needed another word to persuade him into feeding the birds in the coop. His smile beamed happily, excitedly. He quickly got off the tractor and ran around to find his mother. Ciel had no idea how that boy had so much energy this early in the morning. It did annoyed him, even though he did not personally know Duck himself. Maybe it was that oblivious nature of the smaller boy that irritated him. Ignorance is bliss, but at a time like this one, it was a death magnet.

Once Duck scampered off, Ciel was guided by the older male to the house. Opening the storm door, Shawn motioned for him to enter, and the young lord did as such.

"Hang tight, I'll be right back." Shawn said leaving the boy by his lonesome a few feet inside the entrance. The inside was spacious enough with white walls, hardwood flooring, old furnishings, and little things here and there. It was very homey despite his rather luxurious and expensive taste, but the young earl could not help but make a face when he felt the comfortableness of the home's atmosphere. He proceeded to pace around the home, looking at the picture frames with dullness. Some pictures were in black and white, while others were in color much to his surprise. At that he pondered whether he either ended up just in a different country, or a different time completely.

Startled by the sound of the storm door slamming, Ciel turned to look at two girls (about the same if not a bit older than he), twins most likely, enter the home conversing with each other on some matter the boy could not hear. When they took notice of him, he nodded a greeting to the two as one of them, the one in pigtails waved at him and the one in glasses nodded back.

"You're one of the people that came here last night, right?" Smiled the pigtailed girl as she clung to her twin's arm with what the boy could assume was eagerness.

"Yes," Ciel replied politely. He had to show some courtesy to these girls as he is a guest in their home.

"My name's Susie Greene and this my sister, Rachel." The pigtailed girl addressed herself and her twin. "What's your name?"

"Ciel." The boy answered in faux politeness. He wondered what was keeping Shawn. Ciel was not much of a conversationalist as he stood by the frames awkwardly.

"So," Rachel attempted to keep the talk going, "what brings you in here?"

"I'm waiting for Shawn," was Ciel's simple reply; though one look in their eyes and their excitement was full blown on their faces.

"You're the English boy!" Susie was the first to comment in amusement.

"Pardon?" Ciel was confused. Did these girls knew about him?

"Shawn spoke about you last night. Never thought we'd properly meet since you will be leaving soon. Though our big brother never mentioned you are quite..." Rachel stalled, finding a good word to describe the lordling.

"A cutie!" Susie added, hugging one of Ciel's arms surprising him. "Then again, this is Shawn we're talking about. Very protective in keeping such details confidential."

"So, Ciel," Rachel pushed her glasses up, "do you have a girlfriend?"

Ciel did not know how to answer that question. He was never interested with such trivial things. He stammered, trying his best to composed himself and answer that he had a fiancee, but the words would not leave his mouth. Girls were such complicated creatures. Had his butler been present, the demon would not have let him hear the end of it. He was at least thankful that the tall butler was not present. From the clothing they wore to the openness of almost everything, this culture was very eccentric, indeed. He felt so out of place.

"Alright you two, leave the kid alone." Shawn's amused tone was heard behind them. He shooed them away from the reddening boy. "Shouldn't you two be out doing your chores? And anyway, you'll have to go through his sister first."

"Okay, okay," Susie released the boy's arm and past her brother, followed by Rachel.

"You're no fun, Shawn." With that last comment, the two walked to where the older male came from, a giggle here and there.

"Sorry about my sisters. They're at the age where they notice boys for the first time." Shawn said, handing the boy what appeared to be a cloth mask. "For your allergies. Who knows when one of them cats will scamper around here."

"Thank you." Ciel muttered, knowing the meaning behind the thin cloth. Shawn playfully ruffled the boys hair, which he got a dissatisfied groan from the youth.

"Rachel and Susie are the babies in the family; pay them no mind." The older male said. He grabbed a picture frame from the wall and handed it to the boy. The picture was colorful, displaying happy smiles to the camera. "Since you met the twins, this one here is Maggie." He pointed to the girl in short brown hair, then proceeded to point at every one in the picture. "That there's Lacey and Arnold. Then there's Billy, the youngest boy. He's eighteen." He then pointed to the woman beside Hershel. "That's my mom."

Ciel hummed in acknowledgment. He did not care in the least, but for some apparent reason, his strict and proud exterior has attracted these odd fellows. Back home, he was a force not to be trifled with or else you may end up as the next minced meat pie. Then again, these people did not know him nor his reputation, and he did not like it one bit. If he wanted to live through this apocalypse, then he very well has to play his cards right. Everyone to him was a chess piece, a pawn in this game of survival, and he would make sure that he will come out on top. He will recover his memories, and bring upon hell to whatever or whomever brought him to this place. This he swore.

* * *

Here they were again, working on the dreaded barricade. Ciel could not believe he was hammering the nails to the fence. Every once in a while, the young earl would hammer a finger or thumb on accident, making him lower the mask on his face and suck on the injured digit for some form of relief. Those small incidents made Shawn Greene take over the nailing while Ciel held the wooden planks steady and aligned. The man made it look simple. Together, they had almost finished one side. It came as an alleviation (and luck) that Shawn's younger brothers helped work on the fence from the other side of the farm, giving them a small break and a chance to complete the damn thing faster.

Exhausted from the work and the sun's heat, Ciel sat back wiping the perspiration from his brow. His shirt was wet with sweat, it was uncomfortable with the way it clung to his skin. His hair was more of a bother with the oils of his skin making his hair coarse. The noble then looked to Duck, sitting right back on the tractor, imagining driving the contraption. He very much so wanted to hurt the boy in his cheery, sunny face. When Shawn and he stepped out of the house, he ran into Katjaa (as he learned her name) and asked about her son's age. Ken Junior (also known as Duck, or Ducky as his mother affectionately calls him) was ten. TEN! Three years younger than Ciel himself, and the younger boy was exempt from working such trivial chores? What sort of madness had this world come to? If _little Ducky_ was able to feed chickens, then why not let the little bundle work on the damn fence!

Deep in planning on how to get back at Duck, the young lord did not sense the crunching of dirt of someone approaching him. The splash of cool water that landed on his face jolted the boy from his masterminding. It was a pleasure to feel the water on his flesh, refreshing him from the unbearable heat. His eyes found the source of the drops on his face. There stood Lee with a couple of bottles in his arms, one directed towards Ciel himself. The boy took the bottle in slight gratification as he felt the cool condensation on his palm, then saw Lee hand one to Shawn and Duck.

"Thought you could use a drink." Lee said with a small smile, then waved to Duck as the boy waved back with much enthusiasm. "Need a hand?"

"That be great." Shawn replied as he took a large gulp from the bottle, then wiped the excess away from his chin. "If you could cut those two-bys to length, that'd sure speed things up. Can't trust this kid with a hammer much less a saw." He laughed at the last bit, receiving a death glare from Ciel.

The young lord opened his bottle, a bit forcefully seeing as how it was sealed tight. Once opened he took a small sip letting the cold liquid run down his parched throat, then sighed with satisfaction. The water tasted different than what he was used to back home. It tasted fresh with a hint of minerals for flavor, much less than from tap. He took a final, large swig and stood up, walking to the back of the tractor. The boy hoisted himself up and laid flat on the bed of the cart, closing his eyes to rest in the shade. The small labor was not intensive, nor was it difficult, but with the heat beating down and his lack of skills drained every ounce of stamina he had left.

"Back to work, Ciel! I'm the foreman, remember?" The young lord heard Duck say, ever the animated one. Ciel opened his right eye to look at the younger boy, disinterested, then closed it shut and rested once more.

"Quiet." Ciel said to the boy, letting out a heavy sigh. God he was so tired, and hearing the younger boy "order" him was grinding. "I'm resting."

"Okay!" Duck exclaimed, "Five minutes!"

With that said, Ciel got peace and quiet, aside from the bumps made by the boy situated on the driver's seat, bouncing happily every now and then, and Lee with Shawn working on the fence. It was placid, just like back home. He was never one to live in cities. It was nothing but overcrowding and noisy, which was why, like many of his family, he liked the countryside; however, he preferred being in gardens that smelled of his favorite winter roses than the reeking smell of farm animals. The slight breeze that passed through was welcoming, and just as it came it went.

In his rest, he wondered how everyone he knew fared. Did they know he was missing? Were they out searching for him? Was his demonic butler desperately searching for him, so as not to lose the lunch that took him years to prepare? Ciel mentally chortled at the look his butler must have, trying desperately to find him. It would take forever for Sebastian to find him as his Faustian contract was no longer placed upon him, making him hard enough to find; Ciel suspected he might have been sent forwards in time. It was humorous.

"My dad doesn't know how bad it is." Shawn said solemnly.

"No, he doesn't." Lee agreed with the other.

"I saw a guy in Atlanta kill a kid. A boy. Just shot him right in the face."

"Was the boy one of the walkers?" Ciel heard Lee shockingly ask.

"I don't even know. He was either attacking the guy or asking for help. He didn't even hesitate. He just turned, put the barrel of the gun right between this kid's eyes and pulled the trigger." From the way Shawn spoke, it seemed to the boy that the man was traumatized from the event he witnessed. It was no surprise that humans bring about the ugliness in themselves when society is in a state of panic and mayhem. He had witnessed it back on the _Campania_ as well in his own home during the murders. "You don't see things like that. It's not like in the movies."

"They don't fall like you think." Lee said, continuing to saw the wood.

"Did you have to do it?" Shawn asked the older man.

"Do what?" Lee knew what Shawn was asking him, but he tried to avoid the question.

"Kill." Shawn Greene frankly said, no judgment of whether the other man did or not. "Have you had to off one yet?"

"Oh, uh..." Lee hesitated to answer the other man. "I had to shoot one, before I found the kids. And Ciel..." He paused. Ciel waited for him to continue. He was after all, "resting", but that did not meant he was passed out. "Not to rub his ego, but the kid shot one point-blank. Never hesitated. Saved my life."

 _You're welcome_. The boy smirked, knowing the man was indebted to him.

"Really?" Shawn whistled in amazement. "I could shoot one, maybe. If it were far away.

"I'm just glad we're getting this fence built. Dad just wants to keep the family safe and thinks inviting people in is a bigger threat than whatever's out there." Shawn Greene said without trying to offend the man.

Ciel understood Hershel Greene on that tidbit. In a world collapsing, family was all you had, and inviting strangers to your home could fall into calamity. The resources they had and gathered were enough for them, and rather than accommodating outsiders, one would must turn a blind eye, frigid in order to survive. The boy understood that logic. His experience at the hands of the perverse cult taught him how to go about to live out than others. Those other children had not been lucky as he. While it was true he was sacrificed to summon a beast from the pits of hell, it was his hatred, the vengeance that he swore that truly summoned the creature. It was the demon that brought him back to life. Yes, he understood Hershel; family or yourself, you must do everything to survive, and having others invade your life or lifestyle would be your ruin, your downfall. Lee and Clementine may have invaded his life, but like a game of chess, they were useful pieces; he would be the one to decide when to do away with his pawns.

The loud rumbles and vibration where he laid, alerted the boy to get up. The sound of painful, agonizing screams and snapping of twigs had Ciel off the back of the tractor, rounding the machine to find Shawn's leg caught under the red tractor. The boy's eyes widened when he found the snapping sound was in reality bone crunching. Ciel's eyes stared at Duck who was scared, shocked at the scene. He tried to pull the man away, but found it impossible as he was stuck well underneath the machine.

"Duck," Ciel called to the boy in urgency, "make it go backwards!" The small boy did not respond. Ciel tried to push the tractor back, but was of no use as his thin frame lacked such strength. He stared at the younger boy, which Ciel could see he was traumatized. _Not good!_ The young lord called to the boy once more, trying to get him to focus. "Duck!"

He then heard it. The snarling. Ciel looked around frantically, his eyes found Clementine running towards them. Her face was in such horror. The lordling tried to remain calm. He needed to assess the situation. If Shawn died, who knew what his father would do. Duck's scream got the boy's attention. A corpse grabbed the younger boy's leg, pulling him to the floor; two other bodies were a few feet away. Taking care of the closest one was priority, he would have to quickly shoot the corpse that clung to Duck first before he lost a good angle.

"Ciel!" He heard Lee call to him. The earl saw him running towards the scene.

"Help Shawn!" The boy ordered the older man. Pulling his revolver out, the boy took aim. He steadied his arm waiting for his opening. Finally, as Duck moved to his left, bringing the corpse closer in view, Ciel took his shot. The snarling and movement from the reanimated body stopped all together as the lordling pulled Duck off the tractor, a bit too forceful.

Kenny ran to his son, who was now on the ground safely distant from the scene. The young lord then moved to where Lee was helping the young Greene by attempting to swing a plank of wood at the corpses that got near the fence. Again, Ciel took aim at the two bodies. He pulled the trigger to the one on his right, rotting skin flecking the fence. Lee dropped the piece of wood and went to push the tractor off the other man. When that failed, he went to pull him out, but noticed he was truly caught underneath.

"I tried that!" Ciel shouted at his companion. His gun aimed to the last body. "Lee, try getting that piece of shit to go in reverse!"

"I don't know how to get it in reverse!" Lee shouted back at the boy. "Kenny help me!" Lee stared at Kenny, distressed. The man did not moved, scared, and held onto his son tight.

Taking aim once more, Ciel pulled the trigger again to find it jammed. _Goddamn it!_ He cursed.

"Shawn!" He heard the screams of one of the Greene children. Arnold, if he remembered correctly, followed by the youngest boy, Billy.

"He's cemented below." Lee informed the other Greene. "We need to get this thing to go in reverse."

"Right." Arnold agreed, running to the tractor.

 _CRACK!_ The sound of the fence breaking from the weight of the body and another that arrived from the noise, notified Arnold and Lee to work fast. Quickly, Arnold presses the lever to make the tractor reverse. Lee and Billy pushed the vehicle back, slowly but surely.

Shawn's screams echoed. One of the corpses had climbed over the man, digging it's teeth on the neck. With his gun finally unjammed, after many attempts to make the gun fire, Ciel took his shot to the corpse by Shawn Greene's neck. Another shot was heard from behind, turning to see Hershel Greene shoot the last body with his rifle. The father, anguished, ran to his son's side, not caring he was covered in his own blood. Hershel gently held his eldest's head.

"I'm okay pop...I'm okay..." Shawn struggled to speak.

"I can fix you, don't worry, we'll stitch you up." Hershel gently said to his son, reassuring him.

"It almost...almost got me, man." Shawn said, groaning from the pain of the bite. "The kid...Lee and the kid tried to save me."

Hershel looked to Lee, then Ciel who still clung to his weapon. "I know, son."

"I..." Closing his eyes, Shawn drew the last of his breath, leaving words unspoken. Hershel, distraught, held his son. His other children were heard either swearing or crying.

"Fuck!" Arnold swore, kicking the barricade hard enough, breaking the bottom half. Billy shielding his face with cupped hands, slid down, his back reclining against the wheel of the vehicle.

Maggie approached closer to the scene, placing a gentle hand on her father's back, coaxing him to stand. "Daddy," she said, her voice quivering.

Lacey and Katjaa were shielding the younger children, keeping them away from seeing the gore just a few feet away. At last, Hershel got up, but still knelt before his dead son. An anger took over him.

"Get out." He softly said, Maggie gently rubbing her father's back in attempt to calm him.

"Daddy, calm down." Maggie softly said, her endeavors failing. She stared at the others, eyes saying to back away.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE." Hershel yelled at the strangers, his gaze solely on Kenny.

"I'm sorry." The dark haired man apologized, head hanging in shame.

"SORRY?" The elder man growled. "Your son is alive. You don't get to be sorry." His rage subsided when he turned to Ciel and Lee. "Y-you two tried to help him, but this piece of shit let him die." Hershel grasped onto the boy's shoulders in a firm grip, his head turned back to Kenny. "This _boy_ has more fucking balls than you."

Kenny could not look at the man. Ciel could not blame him, then again no one is at fault. Kenny froze, that was a natural reaction. Lee and he were different than the man. They had already dealt with a few of the dead. Of course, the boy did not know whether Kenny had experienced or even killed one of the corpses.

"You can't blame Kenny." Lee said to Hershel, who then turned to him. Kenny looked to Lee, some relief that he was being defended by the man.

"The hell I can't. You watch your back." Hershel said, a hint of betrayal and warning to Lee. "Wait until it's your kids and you need his help."

Arnold wrapped a caring arm around his father's shoulder, as they went to Shawn's bloodied body. Lacey walked behind them. She turned to the strangers and with a pleading look and with a soft voice she spoke. "Please, just go."

Hershel once more turned to the group, voice breaking. "Get out and never come back."

Ciel walked in step with Lee toward Kenny and his family. Clementine approached Ciel, the boy sighed tiredly and held out a hand for her, which she thankfully took. Her small hands gripped strongly, securely to his larger one. He could feel the trembling in her body. Felt her fear.

"You've got that ride to Macon if you want it." Kenny said to Lee, still solemn over the event. Perhaps it was Hershel's harsh words that had upset the man, Ciel did not know. All he knew was that poor old Kenny got a nasty tongue lashing from the elderly man, but who could blame him after losing a son? With that said, Kenny and his family turned to walk back to their blue pick-up not saying another word.

"I feel disgusted." Ciel spoke to his older companion, as they walked a ways back from the family.

"Don't blame yourself. You did the best you could to save his life." Lee said to the boy reassuringly, believing that it was what he meant. He heard the boy scoffed, his attitude somewhat returning.

"Not that, idiot." Ciel pulled on the collar of his shirt. The stench of sweat was overpowering to his nose, making him feel slightly sick. "I meant that I feel disgusted by the smell of my own perspiration. Sleeping in a barn house tend to make your clothes smell even more horrid. There better be a bath waiting in Macon." He then stared at his new (at least to him) shoes. The young lord did not know whether to return the shoes or keep them. Shawn Greene asked of him to care for them, but did he really wanted to keep wearing the dead man's old pair? Looking at them was going to keep reminding him of the man's dead body.

Lee saw the troubled look on Ciel's face, then to the article on his feet. "Keep 'em." He told the boy. "He would've wanted you to."

"I don't know what you're talking about old man." Ciel smirked at the older man, though it was halfhearted, there was none of that old spunk behind it. He felt a light pang in his chest, not knowing what it was. In fact, he did not know what came over him when he tried keeping Shawn Greene alive for as long as he did. Was this guilt? He mentally scoffed at the idea. Ciel Phantomhive did not quarrel with such trivial feelings as guilt. What did he felt guilty for? For not saving him? People died. That was life. Now, it was more of survival of the fittest, and nature herself did not deemed Shawn Greene strong nor adaptable enough to strive in this lifetime.

Lee roughly ruffled the boy's hair, a half smile on his lips. "You really do need a shower. You pretty much stink." The older man lightly laughed as they finally made it to the blue pick-up truck.

"Katjaa, why don't you ride in the back, keep Duck company, and you know...?" Kenny asked his wife. The woman nodded in agreement and folded the front seat to lead her to the back. "Lee you can ride with me shotgun and the kids can go in the back with Katjaa."

"Sounds like a plan." Lee said, helping Clementine up the pick-up. He held on to the front seat for the boy to hop on, and once he did, Lee brought the seat back to its original position. He hopped on and strapped himself as Kenny entered on his side turning the truck on.

Ciel leaned his head against the window, drained from the horrible day. He closed his eyes, letting a tired breath leave his lips as he relaxed in his seat. The quaking of the truck was a welcoming lull as the young lord finally let sleep come to him.

Pulling out of the farm, they left the Greene farm not knowing the fate that was sealed for the family that was left behind.


	3. Of Shadows and Protein Bars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the unfortunate events at the Greene Farm, Ciel and company head to their new destination: Macon. Ciel experiences a strange dream that causes concern to his caretaker when Ciel’s health starts to take a turn for the worse.

A field of white. This is where he found himself in his dream. There were no landmarks, not a cloud in the sky. Only a desolate landscape like a blank canvas without any color or life produced by an anonymous painter. Ciel had stood there the moment he shut his eyes for a bit of rest from the events at the Greene Farm. The scenes replayed deeper into his subconscious before waking in this lifeless waste. He felt cold beneath his feet, only there was nothing, just white. Taking a step forward, the distorted voices whispered and screamed too familiar boomed all at once it was like thunder clapping and deafening within the once quietude. Ciel could not help but cover his ears as it lingered for a moment, he swore it felt as if his ears bled with every cry and garble. When the it stopped, he tentatively uncovered his ears, finding peace once again. Proceeding forward with caution, again a ghostly voice whispered in thin air incoherently rather than the dissonant collective like before; it was chilling. Haunting to be precise.

" _The one who has been lying all along…is—"_

Step.

" _We're going to—"_

Step.

" _I've been by your side all along."_

Step.

" _All along…"_

" _All…along…"_

Step.

" _WE'RE GOING TO CRASH—!"_

Voice after distorted voice continued to rise and fall in range of emotion from anger to desperation to pleading with every footfall of his. The faces absent presently but felt like they were surrounding him with he parting them as he strode indecorously. They were nothing but pools of colors, swirling with every movement they made, it was hard to discern who the person was to match a voice. Ciel's brow twitched in annoyance, vexed at why his mind was toying with him like it held a secret from him and kept him at bay. The words that continuously looped over and over that brought a sense of pain, of humiliation, burning anger like that day were only remnants and nothing more, yet they persistently try to torment him.

Ciel did not know how long he wandered before sighting the first sign of color. A black feather, fluffy and soft-looking, gently descending from up high contrasting with the bright white all round him. Then slowly, another feather floated down in front of him beckoning, aching for him to touch it. Ciel complied as he reached for it, but as soon as the plume grazed the tips of his cold and pale fingers, it disintegrated into ashes, staining them in a fine black powder. Ciel rubbed the stained fingers together, feeling the smooth powder continuously smear his fingers. Another quill caught his eye as Ciel then looked up at white sky, finding more just like it softly raining down from nothingness, each one hitting the ground and painting it in pools of dusty black ash.

" _With this, the power of the Devil is yours."_

Ciel gasped, staggering back as he collapsed to the ground on his knees, crying in agony as he clutched his right eye tightly in a failed attempt of relief. This all too familiar pain was past, but experiencing again the sensation that he went through long ago, although psychosomatically, felt real. The burning and throbbing of his eye had him tremble from the pain for a moment before it began to slowly, achingly, subside. He waited for a while, not wanting to chance another impact like that. Once ready, Ciel noticed the ashes from the feathers no longer dust but liquid veins, coming together in a pool of ink. The puddle grew large and wide, bubbling like boiling black tar that every pop splattered more black as it made a hiss as water did to dying embers when hitting the white ground. Something rose from the puddle, as cascading globs of its thick substance fell to the ground in spitting splashes before the blobs sloughed off and took the form of a tall, black shadow. Ciel looked up at it. There was no recognizable features but a mass of darkness; however, the air of confidence and pride was distinguishable.

" _So you will cast off the light and choose the road to hell," the_ thing sneered with its guttural and distorted voice. The same way when they met those years ago.

_I couldn't do anything on my own._

_I can't trust anyone anymore._

" _Until the day your revenge is accomplished…I shall claim your soul as my reward."_

The shadow's hand cupped his cheeks gingerly, a thumb running up his right eye where his covenant used to be.

" _Command of me anything you wish, my little lord."_

_KILL THEM ALL!_

_KILL THEM ALL!_

_KILL THEM ALL—!_

" _Why the outrageous lie?"_ The distorted voice was no longer rough, but light and impish.

Ciel's eyes widened, body trembling as the shadow before him was now of his height with a pair of deep blue eyes mirroring his own. The hands on his cheeks tightened painfully, almost bruising as he felt the rage that the shadow bore. Ciel could not blame it. The anger against him was justified, but he could not help the contrition of what he unknowingly yet willingly had done.

" _Tell me, I won't be angry at you."_

_No one would be happy to see me come home…_

_If I'd been chosen back there…you would…_

He felt the saltiness of a tear brimming in his right eye as he continued to gaze into the blue orbs. The touch of the figure was scorching to his flesh. The black, tar-like substance ran down its arm and plopped on the floor in a disgusting and sizzling splat. Why now? Why was he thinking of this person after all this time?

"I'm weak…" Ciel began shakily, something so rare it had been years since he shown such weakness; "and a coward. I'm just…"

" _ **Ciel**_ ," a voice called to him, a female one at that. It was gentle and young and concerned. " _ **Ciel. Ciel, wake up.**_ "

A rumbling beneath his feet made both he and mass look down at the ground. The white surface began to crack slowly, the lines deeply veining as it then spread quickly throughout the wasteland. The shadow let loose the grip it had on Ciel's face much to the boy's satisfaction. Taking a few steps back, the form impacted heavily to the floor, splashing it's tar-like substance within distance of Ciel, letting the hot liquid touch the exposed skin of his legs. The heavens began to crumble down, pieces of debris making its way down with dust wafting in the air. White block after white block of the ground rising from its place from the quaking underneath, but Ciel never once moved as he was still uneasy from his encounter with a literal shadow from his past.

" _ **Come on, Ciel! Breathe, kid!**_ " He heard a man's voice, rough and deep. " _ **Goddammit!**_ "

" **We have to do compressions, now!** " A woman's voice this time, calm yet urgent.

" _ **Wake up, please.**_ "

"Clementine…?" Ciel said slowly, remembering the name of his companion.

" _It seems God has sent you an angel…_ " the voice echoed mockingly at him for a last time. "For now."

* * *

Ciel awoke with a start as he gasped for precious air. He coughed frantically, wheezing as he desperately tried to regain his breathing.

"Gently, Ciel, gently," Katjaa coached as she soothingly rubbed his back. "Deep breath in, deep breath out."

He wanted to smack her hand back from his person, but found he was unable to when he noticed Clementine holding it in a vice-like grip. Her small face scared and ready to cry. He jerked his hand away from her hold brutally as he continued to compose himself, following Katjaa's words. Lee was disapproving, but Ciel did not care what the man thought, he only wanted to be on his own.

When he finally was able to regain control of his breath, Ciel took notice of his surroundings. A long paved road with an abandoned car or two. The sky was growing dark, slowly, but there was still light out. A landscape of grass fields stretching beyond the eye could see; trees gently swaying from the light and hot breeze of the summer air. The heat on his skin was unwelcoming, and even more so the headache he was beginning to have. Ciel looked to Lee who was standing by the truck's opened passenger door, the seat in front of him was pulled down for access to the back.

"You good?" Lee was worried, but kept his distance after Ciel's aggressive behavior.

"What…happened? Why did we stop?" Ciel began, a small cough followed afterwards.

"You stopped breathing, kid. Had Clem not noticed it, who knew what would've happened to you."

Ciel looked to the girl beside him who was twiddling with her hands to keep from looking at him. He sighed heavily, "it's nothing new. My asthma causes my lack of breathing. Should've noticed when I felt my mouth dry."

"You didn't tell me you had asthma," Lee said, his arms folded across his chest.

"Because it's not your business. Besides, it's nothing I can handle. I've been through this countless times. If we're done here, can we get back on the road."

"First thing we do when we get to Macon is get you an inhaler. I'm not going to go through this again, kid."

Again, Ciel was curious about the inhaler of this time. Was it light or compact? Was it highly efficient than the one of his time? He remembered Shawn demonstrating with his hand of what to do with said medical device.

"Whatever."

"We good to go?" Kenny asked, watching the scene from the rearview mirror, then toggling it back to where he once had it.

"Yeah, we're good," Lee pulled the seat back up before climbing back on board. He closed the door a bit too hard, apologizing to the man beside him.

"Alright, then. Let's get going before it gets really dark."

The thunderous sound of the truck's engine roared to life, a beeping sound coming from the front, but quieted down when a click was made. Kenny quickly went back on the road, none-too gentle, and continued on the straight path before them.

Macon was quite the quiet ride. After passing more trees and grass fields, the beginnings of civilization were finally coming into view, obscured structures of homes seen through the trees in a blur from the speed they were traveling. Abandoned cars littered here and there, but nothing that kept Kenny from stopping. Bridges came and went as they went under, green signs with the words MACON-BIBB COUNTY and others passing by quickly that were displayed on the side of the road. Ciel found the color of the signs obnoxious but simplistic and to the point.

Finally arriving in the city after what seemed like quite a long time, the appearance of structures came to view. They were small, yet decent juxtaposing the state the streets were in. Littered with abandoned cars and toppled poles, waste covering the road here and there, paper floating in the wind as they past by a pile. Establishment after establishment went by in a blur, streets that held residential homes much like Clementine's neighborhood were past and forgotten. It was apparent they had no set destination in where exactly within Macon they were going; Kenny kept driving and Lee kept mum despite being the whole reason they were here.

As the crepuscular sky filled the town, Kenny, at last had shut down the engine of his truck when it began to slow down.

"Well, this is as far as we're going," he concluded as he looked out the window with uncertainty.

"Then it's far enough," Lee agreed as he opened the passenger side door, letting himself out.

The signs on the buildings they stationed by read: CHEROKEE HARDWARE STORE and HARRIET ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIONS. The storefronts with glass windows displaying goods and sales for consumers who had once purchased from the confines within felt like a remnant of not only the past of Georgian Era colonization, but of present when the place had seen people come and go not that long ago. Hopping out from the backseat, Ciel continued to marvel at his surroundings, waiting for the rest of the group to get out of the truck to explore the place. Other establishments signs were obscured from view, but it mattered not to him. As soon as he heard Clementine's small shuffling from her low heel shoes, Ciel never expected her to walk past him. Knowing the girl for only two days, she had clung to him like a tick to a dog; but something was a bit off about her today. Was it from the way he treated her earlier?

_I have no time for this nonsense_ , he concluded as he walked to the rest of the group.

"So," Ciel began; "this is Macon?"

"Yeah, Downtown Macon, as a matter of fact," Lee replied.

He was irked about something, Ciel was sure of it. Of what, he was not certain for Lee really just kept to himself in reminiscence of his past. All Ciel wanted was a bath and place to sleep that wasn't another barn, and the sooner they find wherever they were supposed to go the better.

"O.K., let's get a move on and find someone," Kenny interjected.

"Right," said Lee.

As soon as they past a clean street, they entered the main road that looked like it had seen better days. It was littered with garbage, cars rested on their sides and acted as a sort of failed barricade. Other vehicles had been crashed with windows broken and doors opened. Metal bins from collected garbage were toppled over in the same sense as the cars where DOUGLAS OFFICE SUPPLIES and FURNITURE OUTLET STORE were located. The eerie absence of people in a town that should still be bustling at this time was like an omen waiting to happen when one least expected it.

"It looks like no one's here, Lee," Kenny said to the man.

"They got to be…" Ciel heard Lee mumble to himself, desperate for whomever he hoped to see.

"Look!" Cried Duck as he pointed in the direction of the supply store and furniture store.

_Guess he's finally come out of the shock,_ Ciel surmised miffed that he will miss the silence now that Duck was talking.

Lo and behold, there was movement just beyond; a male from the look of it. Kenny stepped forward, arms raised above his head as he flagged down the person across them.

"Hey there! You friendly?" He placed his arms back to his side; "Trucks run out of gas."

The person said nothing at first, but paused. A snarl rang and echoed in the empty streets, unanimously answering Kenny's question. He cursed in disbelief, Katjaa instinctively had Duck behind her. Ciel glanced back, finding Clementine standing behind Lee to which he was grateful for he only looked out for himself.

_Smart decision._

More growling joined the lone sound, dragging noises and footsteps crunching on debris drew closer as the group noticed the inconspicuous hiding spots the living dead concealed themselves. Under cars, in crevices large enough for a full-grown man to crawl out from, around corners, behind dumpsters. It was a stupid mistake to make a sound before surveying their surroundings, Ciel knew better. They surrounded the group achingly slow, their beast-like guttural reverberating in the now populated street.

"Hey, kid, any chance you could use that gun of yours?" Kenny asked as he kept his eyes forward, slowly backing away from the approaching dead.

"It's jammed after the whole Shawn incident. Remember, where your assistance was required?" Ciel replied. "My last bullet's a dud. What a waste that was."

"Ciel, now's not the time," Lee chided him for the remark, a glare shot Ciel's way.

_Like I care, Old Man_. _You know I'm right_.

Duck's scream caught their attention. Behind them was one of the dead in a white stained shirt, reaching out for the boy, successfully falling itself and Duck to the ground. The boy cried, struggling to get the dead man off him. Kenny, ready to make his way toward his son, halted when a gunshot fired, ending the moaning and growling of the dead man over the boy. Dark chunks of coagulated blood and some bone and tissue splattered over the boy, making Ciel twist his face in disgust. He had been through it before; the sickening sweet smell of rotting flesh was a deplorable stench he wished to never experience again. Ciel followed the path of where the bullet came from, finding a woman with short black hair and an indecently short skirt, holding her weapon at the ready again. As Duck scrambled out from under the corpse into the awaiting arms of his mother, the woman fired her gun again at another corpse. Behind her came out a man of Asian descent from out of the barricaded building that bore the name EVERETT PHARMACY DRUGSTORE.

"Run!" The man called to them while the woman kept firing her ammunition against the oncoming horde.

Not arguing with the suggestion, they all bounded for the safety within the store. Inside, there were more people, two of which glared disapprovingly of Ciel and the group, before turning that same stare to the woman that just helped them out.

"We can't take risks like this!" Said the disapproving woman with the long dark hair to their rescuer.

Their rescuer glared back at the woman and added, "and we can't just let people die either."

"When I _say_ 'that door stays shut no matter what' I fucking _mean_ it!" She hissed low but clear enough for those around her to hear. "We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous!"

"Spare me," Ciel scoffed as he padded from the bickering, instead opting to wander about his temporary sanctuary.

There was little light, for starters; not completely pitch, but barely visible coming as luminance graced from the grated gate behind a counter. The sign above in large letters within white circles spelled PHARMACY. There was little products on the shelves in the section he browsed, SKIN CARE read the sign on the top of the display. The packagings of what was left were colorful and simplistically designed varying from cold creams, moisturizers, exfoliators (whatever that was), body lotions and body butter (who knew the difference), oils, and so forth. Ciel found it laughable that people were still worried about such trivial things as skin care when the world was in chaos, but most just want a sense of normalcy he assumed. The next section was HAIR CARE, and like the previous section, hardly anything was left but toppled boxes and containers scattered on the surface.

Just as he was about to turn back when he reached the end of the aisle, Ciel found Clementine waddling in an odd position: back hunched and hands folded in front of her just a tad above her crotch. The commotion on the other side where the rest resided was beginning to increase in volume, and he rather just stay out of it, for now at least. No sense in being somewhere where a child's opinion did not matter to this lot. Deciding to see what was wrong with his pseudo-sister (he had to keep this pretense after all), Ciel made his way toward the girl.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked her, a brow slightly raised as she gasped, tightly holding the same pose she had.

"I…" Clementine uttered, mortified and troubled, "I need to…pee."

"Umm," Ciel, dumbstruck at the confession, felt his face warming up from such a private situation, and from a girl no less. This was something he could not remotely assist her with. He commented one last time before uncomfortably scurrying, "I'll leave you to it then."

"I'm gonna kill him, Kat," Kenny threatened as he was looking back at Katjaa who was still cleaning the old blood off Duck.

_He's catatonic again?_ Ciel saw the boy's face covered in muck, remaining silent as his mother fussed over him and carefully observing for visible bite marks on him. Clearly her determined front was hiding her worry. _Did one of those thing bite him?_

"Was he bitten?" Ciel asked Lee when he finally stood beside him, watching the scene unfold like a play at the theatre.

"No," Lee's resolve for defending Duck was strong, arms still folded as he paid attention to the argument—more like a fight—between Kenny and the old timer. "This guy wants to throw us out, though."

"You mean throw out _Duck_. Can't say I blame him though, if you look at it from his perspective. If Duck was bitten—which I'll take your word that he wasn't—I won't hesitate to end him either."

Lee swiveled his way, appalled at the remark Ciel made. "Not you, too," Lee said dejected.

"What can you do?"

"Lee," Clementine called troubled from the other side of the small store. "There's someone in there."

"It's just locked. Key's behind the counter," he replied back before mumbling to himself; "probably."

The reply caught Ciel's attention, getting him to start piecing things together. If it wasn't for the good Doctor Arthur's book of a clever detective, surely he would still put two and two together.

_He's a criminal, for one, but I doubt robbery was involved. He doesn't look the sort. Then there was that far off look when we rounded the corner of this place. Blurting where something is exactly tucked away is an obvious sign of being here more than once does add familiarity, and possible routine. Giving people your first name only means your family name is what connects you to your criminal past._ "Lee Everett," Ciel said in hush for the man to only hear. When he noticed Lee stiffen up then stare at him wide-eyed, it confirmed his deduction.

"How…?" Lee stopped when Ciel began to walk toward the argumentative and cantankerous old man. "Ciel!"

"Duck's not bitten," Ciel continued, finally face to face with the stranger and the woman with the long dark hair. "I know you won't take the word of a child, Old Man, but if he were bitten, I would've dealt with him myself already."

"You?! A scrawny brat like you deal with him?" The man sneered, but Ciel let the insult slide, keeping composure was essential with an emotional and unreasonable person like the man. "Don't make me laugh, kid. Now get the fuck out of here and let the _adults_ handle this."

Ciel sighed, irritated with the situation. Pulling the gun from where he tucked it, Ciel opened the cylinder with the six empty chambers but a lone dud in the seventh. He let the cylinder slide back in place, giving it a good spin before pulling the hammer back and pointing it at the towering older man. The act stunned the group, as a welcoming silence was in the place of the riot from earlier.

"As I said," he continue, keeping the revolver in place of its target; "if Duck was bitten out there, I would've handled it myself. I've dealt with these bastards before, so I know where to shoot to keep any enemy down. Now, let's strike up a compromise here. We give Katjaa time to clean Duck to find any bite. If you still don't trust her judgement, then have that woman search for the bite. Emotions are the enemy of logic and reasoning, so I suggest you let his mother finish the best she could, and you," he pointed to the glaring woman beside the old man, "check for bites. Sound reasonable enough for you lot?"

Everyone kept quiet. The stand off between the two was tense and silent that the moaning of the living dead could be heard loudly inside. Ciel trusted himself that his decision was correct; but like any choice in life, there was always consequences. He only had one bullet that was useless, and the gun in his hands that was jammed. What would conspire if the old man decided to act rather than compromise? So, he waited, gun still pointed at the man, both of them unrelenting. His bluffing apparently worked when the old man growled frustratingly in defeat.

"Fine! Whatever! As long as that shit is pointed at that _thing_. But you better end it, or I'm calling your bluff, you little shit. You don't fuck with me, got it!?"

"The feeling's mutual, sir."

A scream caught them off guard, followed by the recognizable growl of the dead.

"Clementine!" Lee cried as he hobbled quickly, weaving through the small group in his way.

He staggered after a few steps, keeling to the floor when his leg gave out. Ciel cursed at him for thinking he could do anything with that injury.

"Damn it!" Ciel grumbled as he ran toward the girl, but not before commanding Lee. "Get up, man!"

The corpse was on the floor, crawling on its belly, slowly reaching to take hold of her small leg. Jerking the girl out the way by her arm, the corpse took hold of Ciel by the ankle with its left hand, as its right hand went for the upper portion of his leg. The weight had him flop to the ground in a noiseless thud; the revolver in his hand no longer in his grasp when it tumbled and slid inches away from his reach. Ciel was frightened as he struggled to break free from the grip, but the damn thing continued to crawl over him with hunger.

"Get off of me, you disgusting bastard!" He growled breathless, struggling to keep the creature from taking a chomp on his body. It took a moment, but he found a space for his knee to bend close to his chest. Using what little strength his body had to keep the crawling creature from getting closer to his face, Ciel used his foot to fling the corpse back ways from him.

The stench was horrendous. Festering flesh as sweet as rotten meat, body fluids, and iron from the coagulated blood was overpowering enough on his clothes to have Ciel cough and gag from the putrefaction of the dead male left when attempting to chomp him on the shoulder. He really wanted that bath if he managed to stay alive the next morning. Scrambling off the floor, he heard Lee call to him.

"Kid, behind you!"

Ciel froze in place when a tall black shadow behind the already standing corpse quickly disappeared into the room where the creature came from. Why couldn't he move? He instantly felt himself being pushed away from the clutches of the corpse. Coming out from his stupor on the floor, he found it was Lee, struggling to fight off the persistent creature.

"Get away from my kids you son of a bitch!" Lee yelled, battling from getting his face chomped by the thing.

Lee punched it to keep it at a distance, but it flung back at him ravenously. With a bent elbow across the creature's chest and a hand on the shoulder, the thing was overpowering Lee. Ciel could not do anything. He was physically weak, his weapon neutralized, and not understanding what was wrong with him with wanting to help the man.

_That's right. I only look after myself_. He concluded unabashed. _But why do I…?_

Ciel peered in Clementine's direction. She was frightened at the scene, and he could tell she probably was berating herself for not being strong to help. What made his body move to save her? She was not anything of him, especially not his family. So why? What compelled him?

**BANG!**

The blasting shots of gun firing through the small store broke Ciel from his thoughts. The growling of the living corpse silenced and the dead weight being pushed away by Lee who then sighed with relief. Ciel found that it was the woman who helped them earlier that took the shot. She was concerned as she glanced between Lee and Ciel himself. The woman brought the gun back down after asking if they were fine.

"Just great, thanks," Lee replied as he stared at the dead corpse on the floor.

Ciel flinched from a tug on the back of his shirt. It was Clementine. Her head was down, the hat on her head and the messy black curls obscuring her face. She mumbled something, but it was hard to hear.

"What," Ciel said to her, irritated at her innocent gesture. "I can't hear you."

"Thank you," she replied a bit louder, but still soft for him to hear.

" _It seems God sent you an angel…_ " the words from his dream echoed within his mind, and it irked him. _Is that why_ _I…?_

To think that someone like God would keep watch over someone that spat at his faith was stupid. Ciel cast Him off after everything he went through that horrid month. When he pleaded to be saved from the clutches of that cult, the violating acts and torment he went through. NO, God was not there for him then, but the Devil was. Now he had neither on his side, and it was fine with him.

_What a joke_ , he though before yanking his shirt away from her hand.

"Whatever," Ciel said before adding, "call it a debt repaid for earlier."

He marched from her, never once looking back as he made his way to where he saw the shadow from earlier. Ciel knew he was boorish with Clementine, but he cannot let his guard down. If he wanted to go back home and find whoever did this to him, he had to avoid getting close to anyone (as if he was), especially someone whom he had to pretend was his sister. That's all it was…pretend. The whole world was his stage and he the thespian playing the role of the lone and tragic hero. He knew he needed to use these people as his pawns to find his way home, but when he thought about it, he felt uneasy.

"Uh…guys," the Asian man spoke to get their attention.

Turning their focus in the direction of the Asian man. Moaning, pounding, and scraping, and clawing of wood was heard coming from the boarded windows. It only lasted a pause or two, when blasting echoes of continuous gunfire thundered through the streets in rapid succession. The noises receded slowly with the gunshots in tow as they began to muffle past. It was a saving grace, the possible military, for had they not shown up when they did who knew what could have happened if they the dead outside the building were successful in their persistent attempt at getting in. They were annoying yet terrifying creatures the living dead, with what little intelligence they possessed, their high endurance and stamina made up for it.

"We almost _died_ because of this bitch and her itchy trigger finger," the older man bellowed as he strode by, keeping his scowl fixated at the woman in the skirt. "That was stupid! That was—"

He cried in pain, a hand clutched to his left breast.

"Dad!" The other woman, apparently the daughter, hastily went to his side as soon as he collapsed to the ground.

"We did try to get him to calm down," Lee said to her.

"Can it, asshole," she glared at him before focusing her eyes on Ciel then back to her father.

Ciel remained silent after his ordeal with the corpse. He could not fathom how he was capable of fighting off that creature. He admitted that he was physically weak, but was it the rush of adrenaline that still coursed through his body? What about that shadow? Was it Sebastian? Did he come through time to search for him?

_No. It's not Sebastian. If it was, the Faustian mark would be noticeable to everyone by now_ , he touched his right eye tentatively as he was now in front of the dark room the figure went.

Staring into the dark abyss of the room, Ciel cursed for not having a form of light with him. How was he to investigate without the ability to see his surroundings. He jolted back when light filled inside, Clementine peered from the door frame upset and silent. The space was small and nothing special, but a toilet, a wash basin, and a mirror. The walls white and the floor tiled in white stone, absence of shadows but the one that belonged to the girl. Clementine edged to the open door, grabbing on to the doorknob as she quietly gave her solid reason as to why she closed it with her inside.

"Not my problem," Ciel sighed as he turned back to the group, at ease yet disappointed of not finding anything to what he saw.

"Everyone else should get comfy and look for anything useful," Kenny said as he looked at every face in the group. "We could be in here a while."

"I'm starting to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution," the Asian man pointed out.

"You're right, this ain't exactly Ft. Knox."

"What do you suggest?" Lee looked to the man, awaiting an answer.

"We need as much gas as possible so we can _all_ get out of downtown Macon. Fast."

"Agreed."

"Then I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not too far from here, out towards the end of Peachtree. I'll work my way towards it and then loop back, siphoning what I can."

"You know your way around? Local?"

"Born and raised. Name's Glenn, by the way."

"Lee. If you're going to do that, here's a walkie-talkie if you get in a tight spot. Hopefully you won't need it."

Lee handed the device to Glenn who in turn tucked it inside the pocket of his jacket.

"Cool."

"Clementine's got the other one. Check in with her and get back here as soon as you can." Not seeing the girl anywhere within eyesight, Lee turned to Ciel. "Where's Clem?"

"She went to relieve herself. I'm not her keeper."

"No, but you are her _brother_. When you see her, relay the message, will you?"

"You can't tell me what to do."

"As your guardian, I can. Your attitude is beginning to piss me off, kid. What's gotten into you? You weren't like this back in Atlanta."

Ciel kept mum as he continued to glare daggers at Lee. It was the reason he wanted to be on his own; no one told a Phantomhive what to do unless you were Her Majesty herself. Ciel mind raced at speeds he never thought possible, battling with himself on outcomes to whether keep the pretense of being that girl's brother and the man before him his caretaker, or move on to another group alone where he was free to do as he pleased. This lot was ungrateful, he had concluded. He saved them time and again, and was repaid with insolence and belittlement. True he may be a child, but he had to grow up quicker than the other two when he was around their age. He was angry how Duck and Clementine were able to be carefree and reckless, and do as they pleased, while he had to be burdened with shit he would not have dared done if he were home.

Lee's brows were knit in anger, lips downturned, and arms folded, It was his damn eyes that were pissing him off. The man was concerned about him. Though his eyes were dark, Ciel's mind flashed blue for a quick moment before dissipating.

_I should have let you die back at that place if I had taken the chance_ , Ciel opined before choosing to walk away from them. He took a seat at the farthest stool of the SODA FOUNTAIN counter, grumbling under his breath. _There's nothing wrong about my behavior you idiot_.

* * *

"Ciel's a teenager, right?" Kenny turned slightly to Lee who nodded a reply. "I feel bad for you, man. Teenage boys are nothing but trouble when puberty hits. Thank god Duck's only ten."

"I don't know what's gotten into him," Lee replied. "Ever since that incident in the car, he's been an ass. Not even Clem can approach him without him retaliating. He thinks I didn't noticed it, but I did."

"Sounds like hormones to me. I was like that when I was his age with my pa. The man kicked my ass whenever I acted like that to set me straight. But with all this hell that's going on, being on edge is perfectly understandable. It's hard, but the boy's gotta grow up and protect his only family that he has."

"I hear you."

"Anyway, what's your name?" Kenny looked to the woman on the floor with her father.

"It's Lilly," she replied. "My dad's Larry."

"Keep a good eye on him. These boys will work on getting you your medicine."

"That's right," Lee gingerly added.

"And you, you keep an eye on that front door. You're our look-out."

Kenny was facing the man by the windows. He was quiet, a bit overweight, with short brown hair and plump face.

"It's Doug, you got it," he said.

"And I'm Carley," the woman that rescued them earlier introduced herself.

"Ok, Carley, you'll shift in with Doug when he needs it. For now, get some rest—you're a good shot and I'd like to keep it that way. At the moment our little gunman is out of commission since he ran out of ammo."

"You got it boss."

"Now get him those pills."

* * *

Ciel was livid that the two men in his group were talking about him, accusing that his behavior was something natural with no underlying cause like a child throwing a tantrum over a toy. No, puberty was not attributed to his anger. It was _them_ , it was that damn dream and the whispers that called to him like sirens. But why were they saying such foolish things? Then there were the eyes like his own. Why was he there?

"It doesn't make sense," he mumbled, arching forward to rest his head in his awaiting hands from his propped up arms on the counter. "Why you? Why am I thinking about you now like you're alive?"

Curse his mind for being blocked like this. What little he remembered of the distorted whispers was empty words that held no memory he could recall. Then something had pestered him despite how trifling the thought was. He already knew being in the future that those he knew were long gone, but what of Funtom or the Phantomhive earldom? Surely the first one could have still been standing since the latter died with him. If his company had succeeded well into the future, his legacy had persevered, but he had no way of knowing which in and of itself was aggravating.

Ciel felt a nudge on his arm. He lifted his head to find Lee's hand holding onto something in a wrapper, then he turned his scowl to the man's face.

"It's not much, but it's edible," Lee seemed to not be bothered with the look Ciel gave him if the soft smile was any indication. "You look like you need it since we hadn't really eaten all day."

He didn't make a move for the offered food at first. The low grumbling of his belly cried and beckoned for him to take the bar-shaped sustenance. With a huff, Ciel snatched wrapped bar from Lee's grasp. PROTEIN BAR it read on the labeling, examining the rest of the packaging. Though the thing was covered in chocolate— _dark chocolate_ which he was not rather fond of despite having a sweet tooth—along with nuts, oats, and dried fruit. When he unraveled the bar, it did not look at all appetizing. He nibbled into the corner, the bitterness of the chocolate obviously not pleasant, and the rest of the ingredients that made up the rest of the morsel did not make things easy. Ciel heard Lee chuckle at the disgusted face he made from the taste. Damn him.

"What the bloody hell is this shit?" Ciel cursed at the thing it called itself _food_. "It tastes like a bland piece of cardboard."

"Kids surely don't like eating anything healthy, huh?" Kenny laughed beside Lee.

"I guess not."

"Healthy? This rubbish? If I wanted healthy, I would've chosen berries over this, this, _protein bar_. Whatever the bloody hell that means. Has this company no shame in serving trash like this to its consumers? When I see chocolate, I expect it to be _chocolate_."

"Well, when all this blows over, maybe you can write an email to the company and kvetch all you want, kid."

"What the hell does that even mean?"

"Kvetch means complain kid."

"I understand the context you dolt. Ugh, I've no time for this."

"And he's back to his grumpy self."

"You're really a miracle worker in disguise, aren't you Kenny?"

"It's a gift."

_Idiots_ , Ciel took another bite of the chocolate bar, shivering in disgust. _It's not palatable. Do these people not know how to make a decent piece of candy?_

Ciel felt a tap on his leg, finding Clementine staring at him with her small arm extending to him. She had a bar almost similar to his, but it was different.

"Here," she said timidly. "It's a Milky Way. I can take the one you're eating."

"That's sweet of you, Clem," Lee said approvingly.

The adults at the bar were watching them closely, fascinated with how only he would react to the kind gesture. Surely they were expecting him to be a complete asshole like before, and he wanted to. After all, shouldn't siblings not get along every once in a while?

Exasperated with the adults' expectations, Ciel broke off the top half of the protein bar he had bitten into and handed her the unbitten portion, then proceeded to cut the Milky Way in half handing her the rest.

"Never say I didn't do something nice for you, for once," he told her as he chucked his part of the protein bar against the tiled wall in front of him, and nommed on the caramel, chocolatey goodness of _actual_ chocolate.

She smiled sweetly, and it irked him. Ciel much rather keep the girl at bay than let her get close. He was only a tad sympathetic yesterday, because it was her first time alone. Clementine had Lee to watch for her now, so he would not expect her to be around him much longer and he hoped that day will come. He watched her walk away, back to where she was sitting earlier, just behind the aisle where the bar was.

"How's Duck doing?" Lee asked Kenny and Katjaa.

"He's ok, it was just a shock," Katjaa replied.

Ciel peered to see Duck silently sitting, nibbling at the bar Lee had previously gave them before his own.

"We're lucky as hell nobody got nabbed on the way in here," Kenny stated.

"No kidding."

"How's she doing?" Katjaa glanced Clementine's way, watching her eat and revel of having food in her stomach.

"She's good, I think."

"She's a tough one, right there," Kenny agreed to which he then looked in Ciel's direction. "Grumpy over there, too."

"They're just children, Ken."

"What you were sayin, Lee, they were surviving on their own?"

"That's right."

"Not just any kids can do that, especially Grumpy."

"I prefer you refrain from calling me that you dolt," Ciel fumed at the pet name that Kenny had christened him with.

"Relax, Ciel, he's only teasing," Lee attempted to assure him.

_If only that last bullet wasn't a dud._

Lee and Kenny began discussing plans for their next move as they waited for any information from Glenn who was still out in the dead infested streets. When Katjaa asked Lee about his family, it got Ciel curious. He did not say anything at first, eyes downcast for a moment. The somber look on his face said everything when he let his eyes peek over at Ciel before replying to Katjaa.

"They, uh, owned this place," Lee replied and further confirming Ciel's speculation from earlier. "They pulled some bodies out of the office before we got here. There…gone."

Katjaa let her right hand cup the curve of her cheek and chin, mortified at the revelation. "Oh sweetie…"

"Kat."

"They were good people. I wasn't around much, but yeah, they're dead."

After exchanging a few more words, Kenny pulled Lee aside, talking in a hushed voice between themselves. As soon as their conversation came to an end, Ciel watched Lee walk toward a door with signs that read AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES ONLY with a hand written note that said ALIVE INSIDE in all capitalized letters. Quiet as ever, Clementine shuffled to Lee's side out of curiosity of what was behind the door. Ciel watched the man take a deep breath with the way his shoulders heaved in deeply the musty air. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he watched Lee open the door as it clicked open and creaked. Once inside, he found the woman, Carley, follow right behind him, leaving the door slightly ajar and that piqued Ciel's own curiosity.

Hopping off the bar stool, Ciel walked in the direction of the door with Kenny and Katjaa not paying him any mind. After all, Lee was his in front of the door, he was able to hear the conversation between them. At first it was just basic, mostly about whether Lee found something or other. Then Carley blurted out the identity of the man.

"You're Lee Everett," she began bluntly. "You're a professor at Athens who killed a State Senator who was sleeping with your wife. This is your parent's store; folks around town know the owner's son got himself a life sentence, but I'm a reporter for WABE in Atlanta. I paid attention to that trial."

Carley continued on as Ciel rested his back against the wall, continuing to listen. It was hard to believe Lee to be a murderer for he does not look the part. Then again, in an act of passion, maybe he was not thinking before he committed his crime. There was always two sides to the story, and Ciel knew first hand from experience with his _own_ family.

_Aunt An_ , Ciel fluttered his eyes closed as the image of his aunt in all her red glory came to mind. She was a lovely woman, and loving, and she was hurting so profoundly that even he could not detect it. He did miss her dearly for she was the only person left of his mother's side of the family.

"Did you tell anyone out there who you were, or that you were tied to this place?" Carley had finished her small interrogation.

"Ciel knows," Lee confessed. "He's an intelligent boy. Figured things on his own just by my slip ups here and there. All he knows is my name, but not what happened. Besides, the world is ending out there. Who cares who I am?"

"If you don't think people will find any reason to turn on you, especially when shit hits the fan, you're insane."

Ciel took it as his cue to come into the room. It was small and messy with windows boarded up, the walls bricked and plaster painted. The green light with the word EXIT gave a soft verdant glow to the red bricked wall, the door below the sign was barricaded with a heavy-looking bookcase. A large desk, one as big as the one back in his home though of a much lesser quality, acted as a blocker to the other door that was a few feet from the door he came in. The sign was like the outside door that led to the sales floor: AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES ONLY. There was light coming from it in a yellow glow, On the other side of the room was a table with items resting on its surface and a chair that was pulled out. Frames were mounted on the brick wall with certificates, and a lone calendar was just hanging under the frames. In the center of the stone tiled floor was a mattress and blanket, blood was splattered on it as well as the once polished floor; it was still fresh as there was no evidence of dryness if it had happened the last few days. Adjacent to the wall was more wooden bookshelves with hardly any books but a few.

"That won't be necessary," Ciel said assuredly. "When that time comes, I can assure you, I will cajole my way to get the group to reconsider. Do you really believe this man to be a cold blooded killer? If he doesn't do anything to detriment the group—which I doubt he would—I'm positive he'll be fine. After all, we need every able body."

"I'll admit that you know how to bluff, kid, but I don't see how you'll be able to persuade the group should the time come?"

"I'm a child. Manipulation comes easily to me, and I've put it to the test countless times."

His words seemed to have an affect on Carley, but something prevented her from agreeing completely.

"Persuasion is different from bullying, kid. After that bluff and the outburst earlier, I don't think you'll be able to handle it. But, your companion seems like an ok guy, and the last thing we need is drama out there."

"Agreed."

Carley then turned to Lee, "you've got these kids to take care of, don't make me wrong on this."

"I don't plan to," Lee was face to face with Carley, giving her his word.

"Good. I'll just keep it to myself."

"Thanks."

"Don't worry about it," she smiled gently at Lee before turning back to the slightly opened door.

Once she was gone, Ciel began his own interrogation. "Why didn't you tell me that you murdered two people?"

"I didn't think it was important to bring up, especially on account that you're just a kid," Lee approached the desk that acted as a barricade. He grabbed the turned over platform that rested on it and gave a test pull.

"Did you think I was going to cower or tattle like a snot nosed brat? You could've at least given me a little credit."

"Look, Ciel, I made a mistake that resulted in two people losing their lives, and I losing my freedom. For all I knew, you could've ratted me out."

"Lee, back home, I employed military men, genetically experimented people, and a sniper with sever farsightedness that almost killed me had I not given a better offer. Don't think you murdering two people would deter me."

Aggravated, Lee stopped his pulling. "This is real life, Ciel. Your fantasy of being a lord and having dangerous people in your employ sounds like a great idea for a movie, but you have to come back to reality. Sometimes I wonder whether you're right in the head, and it scares me, kid."

Ciel remained silent, he understood the man's reasoning for not believing him. If he thought about it, his life did seem farfetched to polite society. "You're a professor?"

" _Was_ as professor. Taught History, mostly about the Civil War."

"Do you know anything about England?"

"I dabbled here and there."

"Have you ever heard of the Phantomhive family or Funtom Company?"

Lee exhaled, "Phantomhive, no. The Funtom Company on the other hand I have heard of. My great grandmother owned one of those Bitter Rabbit stuffed toys that her father purchased on a trip to New York from an English merchant back in the 1910s. My mother sold it to a collector and used the money to pay for my education. The company closed its doors when the stock market crashed in 1929. People were too poor to afford anything then; jobless even. From what I knew, it was the Midford family that held the reigns of the company, not Phantomhive."

"Elizabeth Midford?"

"Yeah. Something about her husband gifting her the company as a wedding present. Shame they had no children, nor a living relative from either side of the family, according to historians."

There was nothing of his past to cling to. The Phantomhive name, his relatives, his company, everything was gone without a trace. Ciel could not fathom how everything he worked fell in a span of five decades, and forever lost to history and with no one to ever remember the days Funtom was dominant in the market to consumers. He was beyond furious, but Lee was right, Ciel would seem like a madman to any stranger. Taking a deep breath, Ciel tried to calm himself. He walked up to the platform that Lee was trying to pull out of the way and attempted to use what little strength he had to get the damn thing out of the way. Forcefully he tugged, feeling the prickling of rough wood on his fingertips, but he did not care. He was just furious, cursing whatever brought him to this time, continuing the suffering and humiliation that halted all those years ago.

**CLANK!**

The sound of something falling from behind the platform fell to the ground in a muted sound. Ciel stopped and watched as Lee picked up what looked to be a wooden cane. It was simple unlike the ones he owned.

"This was my dad's cane," Lee said. "He'd zip around here on it from time to time."

"Was he sick?" Clementine asked curiously.

"Nah, he was ok. I actually saw him whoop shoplifters with it. This cane's protected this place better than any guard dog ever could." Lee then placed it between a small crevice of the desk and wooden platform. "Plus he knew how to make it look cool. Like you, with your hat."

"My dad gave it to me," she replied with her body rocking side to side.

"See, Dad's are smart like that."

Ciel jeered, "mine was just murdered without protecting anyone; not my mother, not my dog, not the staff, nor me and someone else. A lot good it did him inheriting everything; it might as well have been a target on his back."

"Ciel, what did I tell you?" Lee scolded.

"I'm going. You'll never understand, Lee. But I guess me believing in a delusion is just more grandeur than your harsh reality."

Ciel walked to the door that led to the sales floor with the rest of the group, but as soon as he was about to close the door behind him, he heard Clementine speak again.

"I'm worried," she then added, "about Ciel."

"He'll be fine, give him time. He's just processing things differently than everybody else."

"He was angry but really, really sad too."

"You think so?"

"I just feel it. I know he doesn't like me, but I like him like he was my big brother. I never had one before."

"Oh, I don't think he doesn't like you, Clem. If he didn't, he wouldn't have let you hug him in your sleep."

"But why is he mean all of a sudden?"

"It's just something teenagers go through."

"Am I going to be like that, too?"

"No, Clem. You're too nice."

He stayed put for a while, hearing scraping on the floor of them moving the heavy desk. They could not understand what he was going through. Lee already thinks him mad, and pretty soon it would spread to the rest of the group. Yes, Ciel knew his life was not normal to the average person, but is it not that life is full of wonders we do not understand. Does one need to see it before believing it?

Making his way back to the barstool he had previously occupied, Ciel stopped his tracks when he saw inky black inside the lavatory. Its black mass completely opaque that one cannot see through it regardless the already darkness that was behind it; it was prominent. The absence of noise heightened that Ciel was able to hear the humming and buzzing of the lights. The mass swirled as if trying to take form, floating about in the vicinity. As he took a step, Ciel felt the presence of nausea within him, then dizziness began to consume him.

_What's going on?_ He began to breathe hard, now feeling heat invade his veins, boiling him alive. _I can't breathe!_

"Ciel, you ok buddy?" He heard Kenny ask him as the man patted his back.

When the mass disappeared, so, too, did the symptoms that affected him. Ciel was thankful it was gone, but as soon as he turned to see Kenny, he tasted iron from his lips.

"Kat, get me some napkins," he called to Katjaa as she stood from her own seat. "Grumpy here has a nosebleed."

"Ken, sit him down on the stool, while I get the napkins."

"Alright, kid, up we go," Kenny lifted him up from under his arms and quickly walked to the barstools.

Typically, Ciel would protest and hurt anyone that ever did that to him, but at the moment, his mind was numb. Their image was slightly distorted, but he was still able to see some detail.

"Ok sweetie, I need you to sit upright and lean forward."

"W-what…?" He mumbled.

"Is he ok?" Carley came to them, her face alert.

"I think the heat had affected him all day. We came from a farm ways back and he was helping out." Katjaa cupped his cheeks tentatively, inspecting every inch.

"Was he bitten?" Lilly stood from her crouch on the floor, distrusting of him.

Ciel noticed how Carley was clutching her gun tightly, her trigger finger anticipating.

"I'm checking," Katjaa spun his seat so his back was to her. When she lifted his shirt, he retaliated drunkenly.

"Let go!" Ciel growled, flinging his arm back.

He was weak when he felt a strong grip hold his arms down. It was Kenny and Lilly.

"We need to see if you were bitten, kid!" Lilly grunted from his constant moving.

"I'm not…bitten!"

"We need to be sure, Ciel. We can't afford to have one of those things in here," Kenny retorted.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lee's deep voice rang within the small enclosure, shocked at the scene before him.

"He was out of it and his nose began to bleed, Lee. We just need to be sure he wasn't bitten when he fought that thing off. Hurry, Kat."

"I will make you pay for this, you hear me?! I will not go through this again!"

Ciel felt the cool air on his back as his skin was exposed to the group behind him. His brand, the one given to him by those bastards was on display for them to see. Even though he knew they meant no harm, being subjugated to the humiliation reminiscent of his past was enough to break him. He heard the gasps, and their whispering curses. Ciel remained wide-eyed and still in his seat.

_Don't look at it_ , his mind screamed over and over. The blood from his nose continuously flowed slowly with everyone forgetting what they were originally supposed to be doing. Then he thought back to the shadow he saw again. It was its fault. It was the one that caused the uproar and exposing his shameful mark. He remembered the masks they wore, the feel of lace and leather gloves on his naked body, the beatings, the penetrations, and the statue of the angel that gazed its lifeless eyes down at him, and he remembered most of all when he lost everything in blackness.

" _I simply could not bear to lose another Phantomhive…_ "


	4. Of Motels and Comic Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pissed off and heat-exhausted Ciel has shunned the group after they saw his brand. Keeping to himself, he starts feeling homesick. Finding a form of camaraderie among Duck and Clementine, he learns he’s not the only one to see the shadow. Unfortunately, not even in the fortified walls of the drugstore can stop the walkers.

The solace was not at all how Ciel expected it to be. It was not because he was alone—which he obviously wanted—it was the fact that _they_ knew about the brand on his side, and that was what the adults were discussing; his mark and his mental state.

"That burn is old," he heard Katjaa say as she hugged herself for comfort. "It was no wonder he fought back in his disoriented state."

"What kind of monster would do that to a kid?" Kenny growled at the thought. "Did you know anything about this, Lee?"

"Not really. He's not much of a talker, and when he does its's hard to differentiate between truth and delusion, which is something that's really worrying."

Ciel glared icily in their direction. The fools the whole lot. If it were not for that damn black mass, he would be fine; yet here he was, humiliated from his struggle from earlier and at least better than before. He felt a wetness above his lip, signaling for him yank another tissue from the green, square, box to wipe off the offending liquid that came from his nose, staining the whiteness of the paper in red. After the whole incident of the discovery of his mark, Ciel refused any assistance from them. His face felt warm and he was tired both physically and mentally.

 _I want to go home_ , his face wistful as he stared at the empty shelves, a reflection of what he felt like as he sat alone on the makeshift seat Clementine had previously occupied. Missing and reminiscing of his luxurious and strange lifestyle; social gatherings at his manor (though he detested them, but a necessary thing), the delicious sweets he would smuggle away without Sebastian's knowing, his effervescent yet not so domestically-abled staff (though had their moments, but compensated for their other experiences), the strange cases, all the way to the damn cats his butler kept sneaking inside the manor without his permission. Those were the things he missed about home.

He could smell the blood from his nose as the flow slowly began to recede. _This is disgusting_. _Never thought I would have a nosebleed unless I was injured, not from heat exhaustion._

Ciel uncapped the bottle of red liquid, taking a large gulp out of frustration. It was the last thing given to him before giving him his space. He was suspicious when he was first handed the bottle. It's wrapping in green shades with a large orange lightning bolt in the center of it and the words GATORADE sprawled over it in a white rounded rectangle; FRUIT PUNCH was the flavoring of this beverage—the taste a cross between fruitily sweet and salty, a strange combination for a drink indeed. Doug was the one to explain what it was for, something about keeping him hydrated and returning sodium back to his body. Ciel did not reply, but the chubby man simply placed the bottle beside his quiet self. Though Doug knew of his brand, Ciel held no animosity toward him for he was not one that held him down, but he did not do anything to help either—which he simply gave him the silent treatment, but still responded in gestures.

Larry, on the floor, was still suffering from his earlier episode, breathing somewhat in control but very much heavy as he kept waiting for those pills they were after. He found it ironic that the man he threatened with an unloaded revolver to his face had actually tried to (in his own coarse way) assuage him from the ordeal before calling him a little shit like before. Again, he remained quiet, never answering a single question thrown his way.

No one knew how long they waited for any word from Glenn. It seemed like ages since when he first left the safety of the drugstore for a supply run, the others anxious for his return. Though the horde had been drawn away from the prior barrage of gunfire; there were still those that lingered with their footsteps dragging across the pavement, and their low groans just outside the protected door. It would only be a matter of time when they come barging through if Glenn did not make it back.

Boredom began to take its toll on Ciel. Reading material would be a nice start, but from his perch he found nothing. The ingredients on the label of the bottle was hardly any source of entertainment, and day dreaming seemed to finally end its course in him. He watched Clementine wander about the store, finding her own source of amusement in this dim lit place. She had kept her distance he noticed, especially from the conversation he heard between the girl and Lee. In all honesty, he did not dislike her, so her assumptions were incorrect; she was just annoying like a tiny tick to a dog. He did not like being touched whether it's family like Lizzie, and much less from strangers like Doll or Freckles —whatever name she went by before her death. Ciel stopped staring when he heard footsteps approach.

"Hey, nose still bleeding?" Lee crouched to be at eye-level with him, visage etched with regret. When Ciel remained silent, scowling at him, the man continued treading lightly. "Look, kid, I know you're upset with everyone about what happened earlier. Like you said so yourself, you can't blame them for thinking you were bitten after fighting off that thing."

Nothing. He really hated having his words thrown back at him. It was not like it was the first time it happened. Still, Ciel was pissed, but it was the next thing that Lee said to him that, in a way, affected him.

"But I do blame myself for failing you when you needed me. I'm worried about you, Ciel. I truly am. I know you don't want to talk about that brand, and it's ok. Whoever did that to you, I hope they rot in the deepest part in hell. No one should ever do that to a child. Whenever you're ready to tell me, I'll listen."

"Are you done?" Ciel said in a low tone, not letting Lee's honesty get to him. He refused to listen to anything else Lee had to say.

"Yeah."

"Then leave me alone."

Lee stood back up to full height, sighing tiredly as he did so. He gave one last look before he walked away, leaving Ciel to stare at the empty space the man once was. He never believed much in the honesty of strangers, but Lee was too honest for his own good; a dangerous thing. Still, the man should not expect Ciel to just open up and be some blubbering idiot that goes around crying to people like a useless sap. He was done crying the day he left that place and came home alone.

 _Damn it_ , Ciel cursed for the intrusive emotion he was feeling. Was it guilt, shame, or maybe forgiveness? He gave a huff at the idea, standing up from his seat. _Let them continue to cautiously tread. I'm not going to be over it_.

Mindlessly walking about in the low-lit store, he went in the direction he last saw a stack of newspapers on a counter by the skin care aisle. When he found the stack, it was covered in a light dust—old but not too old. CENTRAL HIGH TAKES STATE read the headline. At the top he found the date and year this paper was printed on, helping Ciel with a rough estimate of this timeline. Sunday, July 6, 2003. One hundred fourteen years in the future. He was still in disbelief that such a long time had past by. Taking hold of the paper, he went to sit back on the cardboard box. He marveled at the detail of the colored picture in the front page, much different from the illustrations of his time. Turning to the next page, it was laden with articles about the housing market, nothing interesting there, a crime here and there. Then came the picture of Lee after another page. It regarded the biggest trial of all of Macon as it involved a politician. Most of what detailed was what Carley had confirmed, about the crime of passion, his guilty verdict, and a life sentence for the double homicide. Yet, the picture of Lee showed no indication of him capable of committing the crime; more accidental than intentional. Next was one about a completion of the HUMAN GENOME PROJECT from April, which was a great breakthrough for the sciences.

In the classifieds, there was a particular column that got his attention: FOR SALE TO PRIVATE COLLECTOR. 1887 ROYAL WARRANT FUNTOM BITTER RABBIT, PRISTINE CONDITION; FROM THE COLLECTION OF LADY ELIZABETH MIDFORD. AS SEEN ON ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. CONTACT NUMBER 555-XXX-XXXX.

 _Seems Lizzie married into her father's side of the family,_ Ciel was relieved. The thought of marriage was one he dreaded, and his cousin had kept pestering about this or that of when they _did_ marry—unfortunately that never came to fruition with his disappearance. _As long as she was happy fulfilling her matrimonial dream, that's all I could ask for_.

Losing all interest in the paper, Ciel closed and folded it, placing it on his side. The act had the bottle of Gatorade fall and roll, sloshing the contents to and fro with every turn. Patter of footsteps rushed to the rolling bottle. Stopped by Duck's foot, he crouched down to pick it up.

"Here you go," he said not completely like himself, but not as quiet as he was before, as he offered the bottle in his hand.

Ciel grabbed the bottle, muttering a thanks without making eye contact. Duck was not bothered by the lack of sincere gratitude it seemed. As soon as Ciel treaded off to where he grabbed the newspaper, he found the boy trailing behind him, curious as to what he was up to.

"Don't you have something better to do than follow me around?" Ciel said with much irritation in his tone.

"No," Duck was quick and blunt, shaking his head when he replied. "Why are you reading the newspaper? That's boring."

"Only to a child."

"But you're a kid, too. A big kid, but still a kid. Newspapers are for old people, like my dad—but he prefers magazines."

"I prefer the newspaper."

"You know, you should read comics. Have you ever read one?"

"Comics?"

"Yeah, stories about superheroes, like Batman!"

It astonished Ciel how Duck finally returned to his old self, not at all bothered that not long ago he was almost corpse chow. Like water off a duck's back was what Kenny had told him and Lee when they first met. He definitely believed it now. That dumb, naïve stare was beginning to annoy him again. To think they only made their acquaintanceship earlier that morning that it seemed like he knew the boy for years.

"You're like a babe in the woods, did you know that?" Ciel let out a breath, shaking his head at the boy's damn enthusiasm it might as well have been an infection on its own—with him showing resistance to it of course. "Now off with you. You're wasting my time in pursuit of finding something else suitable to read while time passes."

Duck shrugged his shoulders, unable to understand the insult. He just smiled without a care like a buffoon, and for that Ciel almost felt bad for the derision on the mentally incompetent. Almost. What a shame. Then again, the boy deserved it, but Ciel understood that it was the coddling of the parents that brought a sense of safety that in turn had Duck remain as carefree as his pet name. He shared that experience of being safe and sound, of being happy and lighthearted almost four years ago when he was Duck's age. Life, however, can be a cruel mistress. In a world that's gone to hell, one loses that part of themselves, and must learn to bury that child-like innocence in order to adapt to the harsh reality of things. Ciel saw that reality regardless of whether Lee believed him or not.

As he was about to walk away, Ciel froze in place when Duck spoke.

"You saw it, too? The shadow?"

He turned to the boy, eyes wide when he saw Duck looking perturbed at the thought. Grabbing him by the wrist, Ciel stalked away from the watchful glances from the group of adults with the boy in tow. Reaching to an adjacent corner, Ciel let his grip on Duck fall as he turned to stare at him.

"What do you know about it?" Ciel demanded of him, voice in a growl. "Tell me!"

He was frightened, Ciel noted the wide blue eyes that stared back at him. He did not know what it was that scared Duck: the shadow or the glare he threw the boy's way? Duck tentatively rubbed his wrist, his focus now to the floor. Ciel saw him gulp, mouth opening and shutting as to whether he wanted to answer or not. The jovial youth all but gone again, an in its place a scared little boy.

"I—"

The room was filled with the high pitch screech of the walkie-talkie coming to life. Static filtered through at first, but the voice of Glenn finally reached through. Ciel cursed the inopportune timing, but nonetheless left Duck alone to go back to his makeshift seat.

"Hey there, this is Glenn," he sounded nervous as he continued to whisper; "and uh, I'm kinda in a jam here. Uh, little girl, can you put your daddy on the phone? Or on the talkie, or whatever?"

Lee took the radio from Clementine's hand and brought it close to his face. He pressed one of the buttons from the side and began to talk into it.

"This is Lee, what's up?" Lee asked the man on the other line.

"So…I'm down at that motor inn and, well, I-I'm stuck. Yeah, I, uh, saw a chance to get some supplies for the group and a bunch of the roaming ones got the jump on me. I'm hiding over here but they won't leave."

"What's up?" Kenny approached Lee, sneaking a glance at Ciel then at Duck before returning his focus on the other man.

"Glenn's trapped down at the motor inn," Lee replied, then pressed the button again to speak to Glenn. "Hey Glenn, we're gonna talk it over and send a group to come get you, all right?"

There was a sigh of relief from the other end, then Glenn spoke, "awesome. I'll sit tight 'til then."

"Sounds good." Lee then looked down to Clementine, "I'm going to hold onto this until we get Glenn back, ok? I'll take good care of it."

Kenny asked Lee about the situation with Glenn, the other coming up with a quick plan to get the other back safely. Going through the list of people inside the store, Lee all but scratched out the majority save two.

"Ciel's just a kid. He's a good shot, but he's still pissed about what happened earlier."

"Yeah, he is. Shit, never met someone I had to walk eggshells around if there's a space to step on in the first place, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. Being nice isn't gonna cut it with him. So, I'll take Carley and her dead-eye down to the motor-inn, get Glenn, and get back here as fast as I can."

"If that's what you wanna do…"

"Somebody's got to."

"Yeah, I'm in," Carley agreed as she walked to the two men.

"Good."

As Lee and Carley began to walk off in the direction of the office, Ciel saw the limp in Lee's step. The obvious falter of his leg wanted to give way, but the man refused to display his weakness for which the others should have volunteered rather than the limping man. Once they entered inside the office, there was the sound of metal clicking shut. It was the door. Something was compelling him to follow the two, but he was damn adamant in staying put on his cardboard seat. Clementine was huddled at the end of the section he was in, worry overcoming her face. The small pile of bloody tissues and Gatorade served as a reminder of his uselessness, and it pissed him off more than needing to leave to keep an eye on that idiot. If he stayed put, how was he to survive this place? Or more importantly, how to get home? Lilly or Larry were certainly out of the list as they seemed to be ones that prioritized themselves as a tight knit unit. Doug? Please, the man did not look much of a runner, not with that physique.

Surely Kenny and his family, but then he thought about how annoying Duck was when he was cheerful (he was on equal par with Finny back home). Then Hershel's words echoed in his mind after Shawn's death. Would the man save his family and leave him and Clementine astray, or get killed?

_Damn it all!_

Exasperated, Ciel stood from his seat, pivoting to stare at Clementine on the floor.

"Hey," he whispered to her, her head immediately twisting in his direction. "I'm going after them. You stay put until we get back, you hear?"

"But they said you shouldn't," Clementine then added forthright; "your gun isn't working either."

"I have other ways of defending myself," he lied.

What, his swordplay? As if. He was not proficient as Lizzie was, and he always lost to Aunt Francis. Maybe with the dead, he could fare better than a skilled opponent.

"But—"

"As your _older brother_ , Clementine, I order you to obey, you hear me?"

Clementine was silent but nodded her head, defeated. Satisfied with her answer, he turned back in the direction that Lee and Carley headed.

"I don't dislike you," he said, angling his head to glance back at her, "but you do annoy me—not as bad as Duck though."

With that, he scurried off into the office, passing by Kenny who called back to him. Ignoring the man, Ciel opened the door and was greeted by an empty, low-lit alleyway. The fresh air welcoming despite the lingering heat (not as bad as earlier), taking in a large gulp before exhaling it, he wondered where the two went off to.

"Get your ass back inside, Ciel," Kenny whispered to him as he caught up. "I promised Lee to keep an eye on you kids."

"That idiot is still injured. I don't know how useful he'll be should they run into those things."

"Back at you buddy. You don't have your gun on you, and it's practically useless. You're just gonna be a liability to them."

"I have other ways."

"Yeah right, with the way you were struggling to get that thing off of you, I feel so much at ease that you can take care of yourself," Kenny's sarcastic remark was not appreciated. Ciel knew that the longer he stood there, the less likely he would catch up with the others. "Forget it, Ciel. Now get your scrawny ass back inside where it's safe."

Ciel hated to admit that Kenny was right, and even he himself knew that he would be useless. The moment's incapacitation was deplorable, and the compelling feeling to go was all the more strong and detestable. That was it. That was what truly convinced him to leave the safety of the store. Well, that and being away from everyone else, and every _thing_.

Ciel was not one to surrender easy. However, it also seemed like Kenny, too, was just as stubborn as he. They hated to lose, but neither wanted to waiver their stance on the matter. The crickets continued to chirp in the silence of the background, and the buzzing of the light posts hummed and flickered every once in a while when the moths that danced around them flew a little too close for comfort before unnoticeably landing on the floor lifeless. Surprisingly, there was no sound of the dead. They were most likely, in their own variation, asleep, but that did not mean to lower their guard in case something awoke them.

"Then why didn't _you_ go with him?" Ciel had heard Kenny and Lee converse the reason for staying behind while the other left to the rescue. He wanted to hear it from Kenny, _his_ cause for staying behind, not Lee's.

Kenny remained quiet for a moment, then repeated the same words as Lee, "I got a family to take care of."

Ciel scoffed at his answer. "Coward," he mumbled.

"What did you say, kid?"

"I said Hershel was right. You're a coward. You were a coward back at the farm, and you're a coward now."

"Now wait a minute—"

"I have no time for this. I'm going after them."

"Ciel!"

Ignoring Kenny, Ciel took quick steps to get to the entrance of the lot. He found Lee and Carley on his left, already far from where he was as they continued to walk the dim-lit path of the forested area. Just as his foot touched the paved sidewalk, he was yanked back. Ciel yelped, shocked when he was picked up and hoisted over Kenny's shoulders.

"What are you doing? Put me down this instant!" Ciel protested, fists punching Kenny's back—which was more like a bop on account of his skinny frame. He twisted a bit to get a good shot on the back of Kenny's head, hearing the irritation and wince from the hit.

"Goddammit kid! Knock it off!"

The door to the office opened, Kenny refusing to let go until the door clicked shut behind them. When closed, Kenny finally dropped Ciel on the floor like a sack of potatoes. Ciel growled in frustration. Blue eyes glaring daggers at the man before him. His face was burning, but kept his eyes on the man as he stood in front of the door, blocking Ciel's attempt at leaving again. It's not that he could escape now, especially without knowing the area. Then there was Kenny, daring him to leave again. It was futile. He was stuck inside again, and with the man that manhandled him earlier no less. If Sebastian was around, this would never have happened. A single command and he would have the man dealt with regardless of having a family. No one humiliates a Phantomhive. Never again.

 _But Sebastian is not here either_.

There was a cold and sticky sensation on the tips of his left fingers, taking his eyes away from Kenny and down to his hand, Ciel found a small trail of blood that came from the pile of red-stained sheets in the center. He grimaced. He had only felt warm blood before, cold was a whole new feeling. It was tacky, bits of blood already solidifying into a clot. He needed to wash it off. Standing up from his place on the floor, Ciel gave one last glare at Kenny before heading for the lavatory.

"That big dolt, messing my chance to escape this hellhole," he grumbled on his way.

Ciel stood before the door, wondering if he would see that shadow again after seeing it earlier. What was also unsettling was that Duck had also seen it. Why though? What about Clementine, did she see it too? Turning the light on from the switch on the wall as he saw Clementine do earlier, Ciel walked inside the small lavatory. Once inside all the way, he came face to face with himself.

The sight was unseemly, hair oily and unkempt, complexion paler than usual with a smidge of dried blood from his nosebleed and stains of dirt; and his clothes dirty and disheveled with a few red spots dappled on his once white shirt. Lee was not lying when he said he looked like shit.

Twisting the chrome knobs of the sink, a rush of water poured through the faucet. Ciel placed his hands underneath the liquid, but recoiled back from the boiling temperature.

"Shit," he grumbled as his hands quivered from the heated water. Much to his fortune, he was fine though a bit red.

The basic mechanics was self-explanatory, but it was figuring which of the knobs controlled the hot water. Leaning over the basin again, he found colored rings on top of the taps: red and blue. Common sense had him turn the red one, and that seemed to do the job as he no longer saw steam coming from the faucet. Placing his hands back under the now tepid water, Ciel began to wash and wring his hands clean.

"You forgot soap."

Ciel jumped from the voice that came from behind him. He found Clementine standing by the doorway, watching his soaked hands drip droplets onto the tiled floor.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked her, drying his hands on his already dirty clothing.

Clementine walked inside rounding him to get to the dispenser that was mounted on the wall just on the top right side of the mirror. "Here," she pointed to it as her hand reach out to him. "Soap to wash your hands with. It kills the germs on your hands. At least that was what my mom told me. She's a doctor."

Ciel followed her lead, sticking his hand out for her to guide him on the usage of the dispenser. He saw her place his hand under the contraption as it made a whirring noise as it poured a small amount of foam in his hand. It smelled sanitary, like chemicals that one would only find in a laboratory, but there was a hint of a sweet scent he could not put his finger on. It was surprising really. Soap, particularly in its liquid form turning to foam, was a rarity among his time save for the wealthy. Though all people, including doctors, thought it to be a silly thing to worry about something as minute as cleanliness; they rather prefer dissecting a corpse then deliver a child in that order. Semmelweis and Nightingale must be laughing at their doubters from their graves—as this was 2003, the Lady of the Lamp was in her late sixties when he disappeared.

Drying his thoroughly clean hands with paper towels provided by Clementine, he balled the clump and disposed it in a bin beside the sink. She seemed a bit happier after his failed mission. Possibly because he told her he did not dislike her. Ciel was not mad at her or Duck, just the adults. However, despite impersonating as her brother, he cannot get attached should something happen later down in life. Clementine might die for all he knew, hell maybe everyone in the group. He had first hand experience with these things even though these things were not Undertaker's Bizarre Dolls, they acted like them.

"Remember when I said you annoy me? You're doing it again," he said.

"Oh," Clementine replied, eyes downcast. "Sorry."

His voice grew soft as he replied again. "It's fine. Like I said before, I don't dislike you. You're more tolerable, and I prefer it that way."

Clementine perked up a bit, but still kept quiet. Her smile was small as it then disappeared. "Is it true what you said?"

"About what?"

"About your family being dead. How your dad wasn't able to protect anybody? You looked sad when you said that. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Ciel. But I just want you to know that I believe you."

That was what he needed. To be believed in in this mad world. While none of the adults in their group believed him, thinking him insane, Duck and Clementine were the ones that did not. Duck seeing that same shadow he did, and Clementine with just being perceptive when needed to. It was all he could ask for. Ciel also came to the conclusion that it was some sort of camaraderie between children just as it had always been. He then wondered if Clementine had also seen it, the mass.

"Clem—"

"Ciel, I found one!" Duck barged inside the small room with his hands clutching on a thin book. Ciel swore that this boy must have some split personality. Was he not frightened of him a moment ago?

 _What bad timing_ , Ciel cursed as his head was beginning to pound. What a coincidence that whenever Duck appeared so did, too, his headaches. "What, pray tell, is it you find so important than my interrogation, _Kenneth_?" Ciel massaged his temple awaiting an answer.

"I found a Batman comic for this month! You gotta read it, Ciel!" That damn wide-eyed stare of naivety was back, and the enthusiasm even more potent. Duck thrusted the flat book forward for him to see it clearly.

BATMAN read the cover with the number 615, the initials DC, and the date of JULY 2003. On it was an illustrated drawing of two muscular men, one clearly the titular character of the comic dressed in dark clothing and long cape with a simplistic design of a bat on his chest. The other wore a black bodysuit with blue detail in an image of a bird. The background was dark with only small spotlight to emphasize the characters in the forefront.

"Later. I have more pressing matters with Clementine."

"Are you playing detectives? Can I play?" Duck looked between them rather enthused.

"It's about that _thing_ , remember?" Ciel hinted. The mere mention of that shadow had Duck's enthusiasm instantly drop along with his arms. The comic book just dangled at his side.

"We shouldn't talk about it," Duck whispered, his eyes looking in one direction then another before landing on them again. "I remember a tour guide, when Mom and Dad took me on a ghost tour in Key West, that if you ack…ack..ack-something…"

"Acknowledge?" Ciel assisted in the boy's struggle.

"Yeah, that word. Acknowledge. She said the supernatural gain power if you acknowledge it. So I ignore it."

"What thing? What are you two talking about?" Clementine glanced at the two, perplexed at the subject of conversation. Ciel realized that perhaps the girl did not see that shadowy mass at all, otherwise, she would have caught on to what he and Duck were referring to.

"Damn it," Ciel muttered under his breath. Maybe the boy had a point. After all, if Duck had that thing on his mind, he would be in the same state as Ciel himslef; but the boy was not. Perhaps ignoring the shadow was the solution. After being surrounded by the supernatural for years, it was going to be an endeavor to let go. Surviving in this world was to be his one and only priority. "Alright, we won't talk about it. So, what is it about this bat-man you seem so overjoyed in telling me about?"

His answer pleased Duck as the light of his eyes gleamed with excitement from the change of subject. The boy sidled up beside him and opened to the first page of the colorful book. At first Ciel thought it was to be more child-friendly, but the opening scene of the comic was solemn, a funeral was taking place. Never had he thought Duck to be one to read material as grim as this. The boy was sure full of surprises. After a couple of pages in, the character Bruce Wayne was reciting Walt Whitman's _O Captain! My Captain!_ to one Thomas Elliot. As he turned to the next page, Clementine joined in with her on his left side, toes tiptoed to get a better look inside.

"Wait, I'm not done," Clementine halted him from turning the page.

"Yeah, me neither," Duck backed her up.

"You two need to learn to read faster," Ciel sighed as he waited for them to hurry. True there may have been a few vocabulary words they did not know nor understood its context, but he helped with pronunciation and definition. Maybe it goes to show the development of American children, not that England was any better.

The last panel of the batman with the catwoman made all three uncomfortable as Ciel closed the comic book for good. Shame there would be no continuation until this whole crisis was over. If there was an end at all.

"So, the clown—this Joker— is the bat-man's nemesis, you say?" Ciel asked his miniature expert.

"Yeah," Duck replied.

"But he's a clown," Clementine doubted. "How can a clown be a superhero's enemy?"

"You just have to read the other comics for that much information. But the gist is that he has nothing to lose and always dares Batman to kill him, but he won't. It's against his moral code. You see, Bruce Wayne's parents died when he was only a kid. They were both shot in front of him after a robbery. Joker was a bank robber at first, but he fell in this tub of liquid that made him insane. He went by another name before he became the Joker: the Red Hood. I like him better as Joker though. He's cool."

After a few more explanations of characters, voices coming from outside the lavatory alerted the three to the arrival of the rescue team. One by one they came through, their faces troubled but Glenn's was grim. Something had happened that affected him. The rescue was a success according to them though they had a few close calls with the dead.

"And things back here?" Carley asked Kenny.

The man told the tale of the failed escape to which Lee glanced in Ciel's direction not knowing whether to reprimand or commend. Regardless of what he chose, Ciel still did not gave a damn of his opinion.

"Better keep an eye out on that one. He's like a little mouse where he's quiet until you see him. Got me good behind the head."

"Yeah, will do," Lee agreed as his attention went to Larry and Lilly. "I get the feeling he's gonna be a handful."

"Yeah, no kidding. Tough little bastard."

"Was that the only one you found?" Clementine asked Duck, indicating the comic in Ciel's hands.

"Yeah. There's just some magazines about boring things, but that issue is all I was able to find."

Ciel handed the comic to Clementine, curious as to what he was up to. Something was troubling Glenn, not that he cared, but it would prove to be a detriment should it arise. The more people living the better. Glenn stood by the lavatory, arms folded and head facing the floor. When Ciel approached, Glenn turned his attention to him. He was fidgety, unsure of how to act around a kid.

"Uh…" he began. "Hey. Do you need something?"

"Something happened back at the inn, didn't it?" Ciel was frank which caught the man off guard. "Your face says it all."

"I'll be fine," Glenn replied, not fully certain but not uncertain either. "It's just hard to deal at the moment, but it'll pass. And you? I heard from Lee that you went bonkers while I was gone."

Speaking of the man, he saw Lee and Doug walk out the front door. For what? Who the hell knew. "Did he say anything else?" Ciel had a sense of mistrust with his temporary guardian. Things like that were none of anyone's business, and there he was blabbing it to the world. Lee was someone he could read like a book. He was able to deduct information just from the man's carelessness, and from Carley's own nosiness that helped confirm his guardian's identity. Everything else was all Lee's own doing. He chose to talk.

"No. Just that you had heat exhaustion and it made you crazy. I know that being indoors can make a person go nuts if inside for a long period of time. So we got back here as quick as we could to get out of the danger zone."

 _At least he kept that bit of information to himself_ , Ciel thought. Though he was still not approving of the man's blabbermouth.

Clementine was alone, staring at the colored pictures of the comic they were reading. Duck was back with his parents, chattering about this and that to them. Kenny peered at him, a sort of sense of approval with the way he treated the boy. Ciel glared in his direction and moved on. He found Carley staring at the radio on the counter. There was nothing but noise coming from it, warbling every now and then as it tried to trace for a better connection. Nothing. Ciel never did pay attention when she and Lee fixed it. She probably knew people there.

"Heard of your failed escape attempt to follow us," Carley said just as Ciel walked past her. He said nothing, just glared. "Pretty ballsy of you, kid, knowing you were defenseless yet still wanted to aid. Takes guts to help, but more so when admitting defeat. Anyway, I just wanted to say sorry about earlier. I'm sure you've been hearing it a lot lately. Just know that folks down here don't take kindly to people that hurt children. I've covered and followed cases like that, some not having a happy ending. But the ones that did, I'm happy for them. You're a survivor, kid. Know that."

Ciel let her words sink in. He was still pissed, but there was just something about them that had lifted some weight off his shoulders. Maybe he was irrational, maybe even a lunatic, but still the way things were handled was uncalled for. All they had to do was ask, not dive right in like a wake of vultures ready to tear into a decaying meal. Then he let his glare wander to the gun on the counter

"You should reload it. Who knows what will happen later on," he said. He then walked to the glass door of where his Gatorade came from. Opening the door, he felt the nice cold air from inside it, welcoming him into the perpetual bliss of its chill. He found there were other flavorings of the beverage, one in orange, the other blue, and the last green. He did not needed another. He was simply bored and warm.

The sound of the door flying open caught their attention. Lee and Doug barged through the door like mad men. The growls of the dead outside grew louder. Metal was rattling and scraping on pavement it was alarming. Their one defense against the dead was out of commission. Lee had walked up to Lilly, showing the keys in his hands to which she seemed grateful as she stood from her father's side. Clementine ran to him, comic book close to her chest as a comfort. If there were only a few outside that would be easy to take care of, then that was fine. Carley was already reloading her gun, taking his advice.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Glenn said as he backed up to one of the small aisles. His gaze was to the windows then the door.

"Don't jinx us Glenn," Doug said as he continued to monitor the door.

"Do we need anything to prevent the door from opening?" Carley walked up to him.

"I think they'll leave if we don't make any loud noises that'll draw their atten…tion…oh shit."

The ringing of a bell blared through inside the small store. In an instant everyone had scrambled from their places when metal scraped and scraped on the concrete, clawing of fingernails on wood, and moans, growls and hisses were intensifying behind the barricades. Lee and Lilly came flying from the office with a lone sack that bulged from the contents inside it.

"What's going on?" Clementine asked as Lee approached Ciel and her.

"We accidentally triggered the alarm," Lee said as he bent to her level. "We'll be ok. This is only a minor setback, but we'll make it through this. Ciel," Lee turned to him as the man stood back to his full height. "Keep an eye on her. You two should take care of each other, so listen to what we say, got it? I know we're not your favorite people right now, but please, do as I say for once."

"I'm gonna get the truck pulled up 'round the back," Kenny yelled as he hurried his way towards the office door.

"Do it fast, I've got to get my dad out of here," Lilly said as she helped Larry off the floor.

"I don't plan on dilly-dallying. Honey," Kenny turned to Katjaa, "take Duck and the kids into the office and barricade the living hell out of the door behind me." Then he turned to Glenn, "Glenn, when you hear me honking in the alley, start getting people out of here."

"You got it," Glenn replied.

"Doug, Carley and Lee, you guys make sure our defenses stay up til then. And Lee, I better take that axe in case I run into any of them on the way to my truck."

"Here you go," Lee tossed the red-colored axe Kenny's way, and miraculously caught it without injuring himself in the process. Lee was still pleading with Ciel.

"Fine," Ciel replied with a sigh, placing a hand on top of Clementine's head and guided her toward the office. "Not because you told me to, but because she's not as annoying as you are."

"Thanks, kid."

"Like I said, I'm not doing it for you. Let's go, Clementine."

He saw Lee run toward the door with Doug, Glenn, and Carley. Inside the office was no better than out there. The alarm thundered in the small space. Duck stood still as Katjaa tried to find something to barricade the door that led to the alley. They needed something strong enough to withstand breakage for a temporary amount of time, but heavy enough for two people to move. With that in mind, she opted for the wooden pallets that Ciel and Lee moved a while back. Katjaa looked to him, asking for his help. Ciel knew that there was no time to act like an asshole and followed her lead, heading toward the pallet. He let his fingers hook under the space under the flat surface, and with the woman on the other side, they successfully lifted it up. It was heavy for him, especially with how skinny his arms were; he hardly required anything that involved lifting. Hell, during his undercover mission in the circus he had problems with lifting a bucket of uncut potatoes.

They planted it in front of the door. Luckily it was wide enough to prevent anything coming from the sides, but tall enough, reaching chest level.

It was waiting for Kenny to get to their location that was excruciating. Lilly and Larry came inside not long after he and Katjaa barricaded the door. It felt oppressive, suffocating inside. Ciel was not claustrophobic, but with the way he was internally panicking, he might as well be. Damn. The one time he actually needed Sebastian around.

 _Stop panicking. It will do you no good_ , Ciel chastised himself for the small quaking of his body.

The one sound they wanted to hear had finally arrived after several minutes. The honk of the truck's horn and the rumbling of the engine, lights peeking through the door's small windowpane had eased their minds.

"Glenn, please hurry," Katjaa called to the man in the other room. She and Lilly tried moving the platform out of the way.

"Hey, kid," Larry said to Ciel, his breath still heavy. "Where's your sister?"

Alarmed, Ciel turned around to find Clementine gone. Only one place he knew where she was, and it was with Lee and everyone else. Glenn had barged through the entrance of the office, he rushed to the door and maintained it open as he hustled everyone to the truck. Katjaa called to Ciel as she had already safely placed Duck inside. Ciel shook his head in not despite the woman's insistence for him to rush inside the back of the truck. Then the breaking of glass and gunfire blasted through the opened door of the office.

"Come on, kid, we gotta hurry," Lilly tried to convince him.

"Clementine is in there, I have to get her," he said as he began to slowly back away. Never he thought to ever go back for a stranger, but he needed to. Or maybe something was compelling him to. To hell with it.

"Lee can get her, we gotta go!"

Ciel turned to go back to the sales floor. There he found Clementine heading in his direction. But before he was able to tell her to get to the truck, she ran past him in to the office to later running back. Ciel stopped her when he grabbed onto Lee's father's cane which had her recoil back.

"What the hell are you doing," he shouted. "Get in the truck, now!"

"But they need help to close the door!" Clementine yelled, maintaining her grip on the wooden cane. "They're coming in."

Growling, Ciel grabbed hold of the cane, yanking it from her weak grasp and pushed her inside the office. "Get in the truck. I'll give them this. Now go."

He may not have been the fastest runner, and he might have been defenseless, but he was still faster than Clementine. Ciel found a few of the dead flooding in through the window that was broken in, piling one by one on top of each other. Carley continued shooting every single one that tried to make it through or stood up from the pile. Then he found Lee, using his back as a barricade to maintain the door closed, but it was obvious he was ready to give out due to the weight on his leg.

"Here," Ciel handed Lee the cane which he took with some relief as he then placed it through the gap of the door handles. "You should've been the one to help those to the truck, especially with that lame leg of yours. Idiot."

"Now's not the time to chastise me kid, let's get going," Lee said with a sigh of relief.

"Aaah, it's got me!" Doug cried, terrified as hands made through the wooden boards of the window, grabbing onto Doug's striped shirt.

"Lee get my purse!" Carley yelled through the growls of the oncoming dead. Her arm outstretched to the bag on the counter and left leg dragging the corpse as it tried to climb its way up much like the one that got Ciel before with another slowly making its way behind her.

"You take Carley and I'll get Doug," Lee ordered as he quickly limped his way to Doug.

Ciel with haste made his way to Carley. "What do you need?"

"Ammo," she said as she released the magazine from beneath the grip of her handgun. "My last magazine's in there. Hurry kid!"

The bag was open. Rummaging through the contents inside the bag, he found the magazine. Ten bullets in the clip, which was enough to get Carley out of her predicament. Ciel tossed it her way, which she inserted the clip in the empty slot on the bottom of the gun's grip, and pulled back the slide to cock it. She shot the one corpse that clung to her leg, then the one coming up from behind her, congealed blood splattering on her shin and other parts on the floor. The growls ceasing and arms limp, plopping to the ground.

"Let's go," she said with urgency, the heels of her shoes clacking on the floor as she made her way to the office. Behind her was Doug, his shirt torn from the persistent creatures that had grabbed him by the window.

"Aaah!" Clementine screamed as she was grabbed on her small leg on her way to the office. She toppled to the ground, the creature ready to engulf her.

"I told you to stay back, you idiot!" Ciel said to her when he approached her. _What am I going to do? I have nothing to fight them back with! But if I don't do something, she will—_

He felt it again, the nausea and the blood in his nose dripping above his lip. The high frequency ringing channeled through his mind as it, for a moment, made him come to a full stop. His right eye burned like when he ordered Sebastian. He felt strong for that small instance. Ciel did not understand why, but there was just a voice within, coaxing him to stomp on the creature's head. He did. He did it again and again, as he growled, cursing at it in his mind, all the while not caring that with every stomp of his foot blood and chunks of brain matter and fragments of bone were sticking to him, painting it in its macabre medium. The corpse released the grip it had on Clementine's leg, a weak wheeze of breath escaped it. Not waiting around for it to gain strength, Ciel picked Clementine up from her underarms and held onto her as he hauled ass to the office where Kenny was hustling them inside.

Ciel peered behind them, not seeing Lee. Larry climbed aboard on the bed of the truck with Glenn, Doug, Carley, and Lilly, shouting for those behind to hurry as more of the dead were coming from behind them. It was not long until Kenny came through the door with Lee supported due to his leg.

 _Guess it finally gave out_ , Ciel thought. He then peeped at Clementine who remained quiet at his side in the backseat with Katjaa and Duck. _How was I able to do that? And that feeling from before, why did it come back? Was it there?_

He had no time to think about it. If they made it through the night, he would mull over it.

The unpleasant recoil of when Kenny hit the gas petal was not tolerated as Ciel cursed the man out, calling him an idiot Yank and so forth.

"Save your cussing when we get to a safe place kid," Kenny said as he swerved from one side of the lane to another, avoiding things that would hinder their escape.

As soon as they were out of Downtown Macon, they came upon a clear road, trees dark against even darker skies, but lamp posts lined every few feet to guide them along. Through the gaps in trees with soft yet vibrant colored lights had Kenny pull up in the lot of abandoned vehicles and even more abandoned buildings. The bright, obnoxiously colored lights that guided them in blared within a yellow arrow reading TRAVELIER MOTEL. Kenny came to a stop, parking close to an even larger and wheel-less vehicle in the center propped by cinderblocks to withstand its weight. Inanimate decayed bodies scattered about the lot. The ones Lee and Carley killed during the rescue mission. From what Lee said to Kenny, there were more of them when they escaped, but must have wandered off since their meal was no longer there.

Not taking any chances that lurkers might be within the vicinity, those capable were sent out to scout the place. The teams consisted of Lilly, Glenn and Doug in one, Carley and Kenny in the other with Lee out of commission this time around.

It was quiet. A whole lot better than the sound of alarms and gunfire from within the city. All there was to hear was their breathing and cricket songs, and it was just fine.

Clementine was upset. What made her that way—almost on the verge of tears—was anyone's guess. Maybe he was hard on her, or maybe she lost something. It could not have been for she had her father's cap. What went on in her mind he wondered.

They did not wait long as they saw Kenny coming back. The driver's seat pulled forward to let everyone in the backseat out. "We're clear,," Kenny called out to them. "We just gotta take care of a few things before we settle in for the night."

Piling the corpses. That was the one of the tasks that had to be done before anything else. Luckily for Ciel and the other two children of the group, they were opted out from the specific chore. Dealing with two walkers in one day was enough for Ciel. He did not needed to handle another one regardless what state it was in. He was sure, too, that the adults of the group were still wary of him, thinking him crazy and not wanting to escalate his mental stability. Maybe he should play that to his advantage if he wanted to get his way.

Ciel approached to where Glenn—the only grown up in the group he was mostly on speaking terms with— wandered off to an abandoned blue car. Resting his back against the car the man was in, Ciel peered at the man fiddle with the radio, turning the black knob here and there. It was like any of the vehicles that they had come across from their trip in Atlanta to Macon. The one distinguishable feature about it: a red and blue sign on top that read ACE PIZZA. The static of the voice coming from the speakers was unclear at first as it buzzed every once in a while, which made the male voice sound muffled in return. When Glenn found just a clear voice, he turned up the volume to listen to the broadcast.

Four so far, he counted as Kenny dragged another on top of the small and gruesome mound. The body of a woman that was piled next had caught him off guard. It was not that Ciel was not used to seeing death wherever he went, but the state she was in was obvious that she was alive just awhile ago. There was a bite on the left side of her abdomen, just above her hip. Her pink shirt was soaked in dark blood from her injury. An exit wound on the left side of her head told the story of how she died. Self-infliction. It was her eyes, however, that was haunting as the glassiness of them stared into the dark and starlit sky. It was creepy for lack of a better word. Ciel found Glenn staring at the dead woman briefly before turning his head away from her splayed body as another corpse was piled on top of her. Her death affected the man as Ciel saw the trembling of Glenn's hand on the door.

 _Must be what was bothering him earlier_ , Ciel deducted as he continued his watching of another corpse pile on top of the other. Clementine was across from him, staring at the scene as Lilly brought the last one, face disgusted at even touching one of those things. The small girl turned around and scurried away from the uncomfortable scene, Duck following her as he left his mother's side.

" _Meanwhile, inland, Atlanta has been downgraded temporarily to an eight, with attacks and rioting being reported in all precincts,_ " the broadcaster on the radio said as he continued on. " _Citizens are currently advised to stay in their homes or move towards the cities of Charlotte, Atlanta, and Orlando. If citizens choose to stay in their homes, they are urged to be near their radios and await further instructions. Moving in the cities of Charlotte, Atlanta, or Orlando may become necessary in order to ensure the safety of all citizens._ "

"Hey, Glenn," Lee's voice interrupted their listening of the broadcast.

" _With uncountable severe emergencies in all counties, Georgia cities and their current level of disasters are as follows: Atlanta, stage nine catastrophe…_ " the broadcaster continued on.

"I think I need to go," Glenn said, worry etched in his voice.

"To Atlanta?" Lee asked unsure if the idea was the right choice.

"Yeah…I got friends there, and I just can't stay here knowing that they could be trapped in that city."

"It sounds like nobody knows what's happening there. When we left it could've gone either way."

"I gotta take my chances."

" _Augusta, stage eight disaster; Columbus, stage six infection zone; Savannah, stage nine catastrophe; Roswell, stage nine catastrophe; Albany, stage nine catastrophe. Once again, Savannah is a now a stage nine catastrophe."_

Getting off the car, Ciel watched as Glenn looked at the broken balcony, sadly, then drove off into the distance in the direction to Atlanta. Lee then approached him, placing a hand on Ciel's shoulder.

"I think it was the wrong call to have let him go," Ciel said as he still stared at the empty road. "He's useful."

"I think he'll be alright," Lee replied. A box dangled in front of him. "Since we're on speaking terms now, here."

Ciel took the square packaging in his hands nonetheless, turning it to and fro. "For now at least. You lot still piss me off. What's this?"

"An inhaler, thought you could use it about now, especially before you go to bed. I got you a few more in case you lose it."

Ciel merely gave a quick hum in reply. He opened the small box, finding a small and curved device. There was a paper lodged inside, pulling it out to unfold it, he found the simple instructions along with the information about the medicine in the metal top.

 _Pretty straight forward_ , Ciel thought as he shook the inhaler in his hand. As he pumped the top untimely inhaling, he coughed for a moment from the tiny flecks of the medication.

"You ok?" Lee patted his back which Ciel knocked back, but nodded he was fine.

Blasted thing! He attempted again after his coughing settled, this time following the instructions properly. He could feel it, his airways clearing slowly. The little metal and plastic was a whole lot more efficient and lightweight than the one in his own time.

"You did good, keeping Clem safe. Never thought someone as scrawny as you had that much power in a stomp."

"Adrenaline. You asked me to keep an eye on her. She snuck away without my knowing and I, in turn, got angry. That's all it was, anger and adrenaline."

Bursts of gunfire was heard in the distance along with sounds coming from overhead. Then there was a blast that sounded like cannons that thundered. Screams were able to be heard, but faintly from the sounds of the weapon fire.

"I hope that's the sound of us winning this thing," Kenny said with hope.

"Me too," Lilly said as she walked to where he and Lee stood.

"This motor inn's pretty damn defendable. We block off the entrances with some cars and keep someone on watch, we could stay here until the military rolls through."

Lee, Kenny and Lilly waked off to the entrance of the motel onto the lit sidewalk. Ciel decided to walk to where he saw Clementine sitting on the propped vehicle in the center of the lot. When she saw him approach, her mouth slightly opened before closing it shut. Her head hung, hiding her face from him in obvious shame.

"You didn't listen to me," Ciel said as he folded his arms across his chest. "I had told you—OOMPH!" He felt Clementine ram into him all the while the inhaler in his hand falling to the floor in a small clank, her small arms enveloping him in a crushing hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she sniveled in her tiny voice as she sniffed back her runny nose. "I know…you said…to stay, but Lee…h-he needed help. And you were a-angry, so I…"

 _Shit_ , he cursed when he felt her trembling. "Hey," he called to her. Clementine looked up at him, eyes tearful and nose runny. Ciel made a face, but nonetheless wiped off the tears with his thumbs. "A lady looks ugly when she cries, so stop it. If you are to pretend to be my sister, then carry yourself like a Phantomhive. Got it?"

When he was done and she settled down, he released her death grip off of him. She nodded her head at his words, mumbling an apology.

"And another thing," he said, this time gently, "stop apologizing. I was being an ass to you. But know that we can't get attached even as we play along as siblings. It's dangerous."

"How?" Clementine asked, her doe eyes saddened.

 _Damn it. Why can't I stay angry at you?_ Ciel had wondered. True he got angry before, but it was always short-lived with her. He had the sense that no matter how much she would mess up things, he would not be able to stay angry with her. He just knew. Still, he could not get attached to her, but maintain civility up until he finds his way home. Besides, people that were close to him always died in the end. "I don't—"

"Ciel!" Duck approached them, Ciel groaned when he saw how animated the boy was. There was that headache again. "I was telling Clementine earlier, that back store reminded me of Derek and Super Dinosaur when they got ambushed by Squidious, but Derek had an underwater mega-laser. It was so awesome. Oh, and then, check this out, Doometrodon had this mini-gun on his shoulder, it's all like, pow, pow, pow! I thought Super Dinosaur was toast! But you know what? He wasn't. Oh! And then…"

"What are you rambling on about now, Kenneth?" Ciel was annoyed. He refused to call the boy by the pet name his parents gave him when he got like this.

"Super Dinosaur!" Duck replied enthusiastically. "It's another comic book about a boy genius and a dinosaur that has these giant robotic arms since, you know, a T-Rex has small arms and all. You should totally read it!"

Ciel was about to open his mouth but the sound of popping was heard in the distance. The lights from the sidewalk were going off one by one until the sign of the motel went off too, followed by more street lamps down the road, engulfing them in darkness save but the moonlight giving a soft blue glow. He felt Clementine cling to him again, this time just letting her without trying to shake her off. He owed her after all.

"Shit," Kenny said as he, Lee and Lilly made their way back to the group. "Well, so much for having light."

"Now what?" Doug said as he walked up to them.

"I know it's dark, but we gotta barricade the entrances now, so that we don't have any more of them walkers coming through. We could use the lights from my truck to see where we're going."

"That's a good start," Lee agreed.

"Kat, Carley, get keys to the rooms from the manager's office and hand them out when we're done. If you come across anything useful let us know. Kat, take the flashlight I have in the glovebox."

"Sounds good," said Carley.

"Alright, let's get to it."

The blue pickup roared to life again, Kenny blaring the bright lights to shine in the direction of the front entrance. Katjaa had fetched the flashlight from the front of the truck and made her way back to Carley. Ciel, Clementine and Duck decided to join the women in the search for anything useful so as not to get bored while they waited (for Ciel it was perfect to get away from Duck's rambling about comics that he never knew nothing about).

The manager's office was in the corner of the building near the entrance, under the balcony from the second floor that gave way. A small bell dinged in the small confined space when Carley opened the door. They were met with silence and a strong smell of tobacco that were seeped within the walls. After going through this sort of routine, keeping her gun close to her was slowly becoming nature. Hey, it was precaution. Who knew when they were going to run into the walkers as Kenny aptly named them. Katjaa shined the light here and there wherever Carley needed it. She pointed the light at an off white door with a window that was unable to be seen through due to the corn-patterned curtains.

Carley slowly rounded the counter and propped open the flippable board up as she pressed forward toward the door. Twisting the brass knob that was in need of repair as it had to be jiggled to be let in, the door opened with a loud creak in desperate need of oil in its hinges. Katjaa pointed the light from one end of the room, showing nothing but a metal desk and large armchair for a possible heavyset person on the left. Behind that was a calendar set in July— x's marked over the days that passed, leaving the 19th not crossed out—with a half naked, blond-haired woman in a provocative pose of splayed legs to which Katjaa shielded Duck from looking at it. On the desk was a small television, and a gold plaque with black letters spelling the name of the manager: OTIS VAN BUREN. Then the flashlight was pointed to the right, nothing but shelves of small boxes, magazines, and, oddly enough, knickknacks of cats littered the rest of the shelves.

They began to rummage through the office once the coast was clear. The first thing the women did was tearing down the obscene calendar, dumping it in the trash can that was under the desk either out of shielding the youths in the group or out of some feminine camaraderie. After a few minutes of searching, there was not much to find in the small space. What little they did scrounged up was an extra flashlight, an unopened pack of batteries, box of matches, a cigarette lighter, and (oddly on the bottom drawer of the desk) a few small vanilla-scented candles with one already halfway spent), a box of tissues, and a bottle of half-used lotion—which the latter items were immediately disposed of much to the confusion o Duck and Clementine.

Gathering the few items and Carley grabbing some keys that hung on the pegged backboard behind the front counter, they were all ready to head back to the others, hoping their makeshift barriers were up to snuff.

Lee came up to them and asked, "any luck?"

"Found a few useful things, but we have to use them sparingly," Carley said. She handed the lone flashlight to him and the pack of batteries. Her attention was then to the barricade. Two large dumpsters placed next to each other to prevent the walkers coming through easily with their height. What little items that were strewn about, like wooden boards, crates and trash cans, blocked the gaps underneath in case they came from below. The other entrances were blocked almost the same way, but not as semi-impenetrable as the front entrance.

"So, are we gonna divide the rooms for each of us or are we gonna pair off?" Doug asked exhaustedly from the work.

"I think a single room each is the better option," Lee said.

"Ok," Kenny agreed, having Carley distribute the keys among the group.

In the end, Kenny and his family opted to live in the RV (as Ciel came to know the wheel-less vehicle), but still kept a key just in case. Carley, Larry, Doug, and Lilly had their own. Lee had also gotten his own room, which left Ciel and Clementine to share one on account of being a _family_ , much to Ciel's dismay of not having a room to himself. As long as Clementine did not get in his way. Again he shared a room with a girl. Coincidence much?

"Here's a candle, don't over use it until we find more," Lee handed him the lit glass candle. Then Ciel was handed three more small boxes that were similar to the inhaler that fell on the ground, which he had picked up after Clementine's little stunt of ramming into him unexpectedly and Duck's jibber-jabber. "Make sure you put these somewhere safe."

"I think I can handle something like this," Ciel said as he handed Clementine the boxes, which she did not protest. "Anything else I should know about, before I sleep?"

"You've never been out much have you?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Despite not having electricity, you can still take a quick bath. Just make sure not to over use your candle, ok?"

Ciel perked at that. At last, after traveling from the suburbs of Atlanta, to a farm, to a pharmacy, he can finally take a bath. He did not care how long it took. He just desperately needed one. Unfortunately, he would still have to sleep in the clothes on his back.

 _As long as I'm clean from this filth on me, I'll be fine_.

His room was the second to the last door in the building facing the road. After opening the door, Clementine came from behind him, illuminating the room in a soft orange glow; the smell of vanilla wafting and clearing off any musty scent that lingered in the room. It was not big. It was tasteless with a basic paint job, and ugly carpeting. There was wood paneling on the opposite wall where two small beds made. Old furniture with no detail, and paintings with no sense of theme but just to be there. It was banal, but it would have to do. Opposite the entrance was another door, which Ciel assumed was the bathroom.

After settling his boxes on the side table between the beds, Ciel waited patiently, lying on the bed he chose his own, in the perpetual darkness of the room for Clementine to finish her bath as she took their only source of light inside. He really wished for his own room for he need not wait for his turn to wash the filth off his person. Ladies first; he was a gentleman after all. Ciel opted to glance at the ugly green panels that let not much light through the open window. It was hot, and the night Georgian air was still not able to keep him cool as he stared at the plastic gently swaying back and forth with the occasional passing breeze.

"Your turn," Clementine said, the candle in her hand glistening the droplets that fell from her wet hair. She, too, had worn her dress again, but her stockings were gone.

Ciel got up from his bed, taking the lit candle inside the small space of the bathroom. It was plain, again. The necessities were all there: toilet, basin, and a tub. A towel rack held the wet towel that was used by Clementine, a small puddle forming on the tiled floor.

 _Hopefully I won't break my neck when I get out,_ he sighed as he placed the candle on the toilet closed seat. There were knobs like the lavatory in the pharmacy to open the water. Remembering not to unleash the water all at once, else he would scald himself again. He turned the tap to the cold water first before opening the hot water. The rushing of water from the faucet was harsh yet plentiful like a roaring river. Never had he drawn his own bath before. A first for him. He was alone after all. Ciel knew he needed to learn these things until he reached home. Once the water temperature and level was to his satisfaction, he clumsily removed his clothing and got in the tub.

He sat there for a while, letting the tepid water slosh back and forth with every twitch he had. Ciel found the soap previously used by Clementine before him to his right on the small alcove. He had also found small opened bottles with the labels reading SHAMPOO and CONDITIONER. Whatever the hell that meant.

After figuring out what those two bottles were for—for cleaning his hair apparently, since all he used back home was just lye or Castile soap—Ciel lied into the water-filled tub to rinse the soap out of his hair, watching the shadows dance on the ceiling from the flame. He knew he should not be thinking of it, but the mass was in his mind again. How was is that it only affected him with side effects, but not Duck who had also seen it?

It was psychosomatic, but Ciel could still feel the burning in his right eye as he let a soaked hand touch the bottom lid, the water dripping in the pool from the movement. Inhaling, Ciel submerged himself in the half-filled tub, all the while watching the shadows dance from the now murky water. The sensation of cleanliness, along with whatever weight he felt earlier, washing off of him was a welcoming and easing his mind. It gave him a chance to think his options through. What if scenarios and should this occur, though not having perfect hindsight, his brain was at work. Whatever awaited the next day, he had to be prepared.

First thing was first, making allies. Though the mark on his back was a topic he did not wanted to discuss, and hearing from the others that they were not going to press the topic further, Ciel decided to let bygones; still, he was finding it amusing to keep them on their toes around him. He would still continue it until he was bored—which should be in a day or two. Clementine and Duck were the only ones that actually believed him anyway, and it was enough. Second, he needed new clothes. There was no way in hell he was going to be in these filthy clothes for long. Third, he needed to survive in this world. Though he was competent with a gun, he needed to be versatile. Lastly, figuring out a way home, and finding out who did this to him with or without Sebastian by his side.

" **I'm very pleased to hear that, my lord.** " It was guttural, the voice, but clear like it was by his ear.

Ciel emerged from the water, gasping and huffing from his prolong submergence—which was only seconds. Water and suds sloughed off from his hair into the murky tub. He turned to look in every direction where he thought the voice came from. His heart was pounding a mile a minute, but slowly began to calm down when he found no one but the lit candle on the toilet seat, and the shadows on the wall from the gentle flame.

"He's not here," Ciel muttered, a hand slicking back his drenched hair. "If he were, he would be here, stupid face and all. Maybe Lee was right. Maybe I might be going mad." Taking the soap from its place on the alcove, Ciel began to scrub the rest of his body.

Drying himself with the clean towel that was next to the candle, Ciel redressed himself in the dirty clothes, groaning in disdain from the stench of perspiration. Taking the candle with him after placing the now wet towel on the rack beside Clementine's, Ciel made his way back to the his bed, finding the girl asleep in her own, lightly snoring from being tired all day. Kenny was obviously awake as he took first watch for the night as the flickering of the candle he was given from his perch on top of the RV. It was safe to sleep tonight. Blowing out the candle and placing it on the side table, he plopped rather ungracefully on the hard mattress and firm pillow, not caring for removing the covers off of them. The smell of plain detergent entered his still sore nose, but welcomed it.

 _Where did that urge to save her come from? That strength. It happened when my body stopped moving for a brief moment. And that voice. It sounded like him when he had no form. God, my head is hurting._ Deciding to just call it a night, Ciel closed his eyes, hoping he would have a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night for tomorrow who knew what was to come. All he had were his goals for this world, and maybe he would soon remember how he ended up stranded in the future. More importantly, he needed to know more about this Batman character Duck persisted he needed to read more upon. Such trifling things comics, but it would help with the boredom.

* * *

Had Ciel been aware, he would have questioned how the towel he dried himself with was conveniently placed by the candle while he was submerged in the water with this thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end for A New Day. Starved for Help will pick up after a few chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This story can also be found on FanFiction.Net, where I uploaded it. I will now upload every new chapter there first before uploading here.


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